Why is the RAF buying the F-35?

[Modern Elmo]

April 5, 2011, 1:13 PM ET.

“Let Them Eat Fighter Jets!”: GOP Cuts Spare Defense.

By Avi Salzman

Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wisc.) proposed budget plan would cut $5.8 trillion from the budget in the next decade, upending Medicare and Medicaid and gutting many social programs. But Ryan’s budget treads lightly in a few other areas, including defense.

Ryan’s 2012 budget essentially accepts the president’s proposal for a $553 billion defense budget and $117 billion in spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also adheres to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ plan to cut $178 billion from the budget over the next five years, writes Citi analyst Jason Gursky in a note out today.

“In our view, this supports our thesis that defense budgets are not about to face dramatic declines given what appears to be bipartisan support for Sec. Gates’ savings initiatives,” Gursky writes.
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“Let Them Eat Fighter Jets!”: GOP Cuts Spare Defense - Stocks To Watch Today - Barrons.com


In other words, all three versions of F-35 continue.