In their Pentagon press conference Oct. 27 announcing Northrop Grumman's victory in the U.S. Air Force Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program, officials were adamant that their decision had been made on the merits, not industrial base concerns. Stuck trying to prove a negative, officials did not waste more time addressing the notion that the smallest of the three U.S. military aircraft manufacturers enjoyed favoritism over Boeing and Lockheed Martin. After all, defense officials otherwise are increasingly looking to maintain competition in the aerospace and defense marketplace while fighting the sclerotic effects of industrial consolidation, and Northrop's aerospace unit was seen by some observers as ripe for sale if the company lost.
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