This is no doubt true, but I don't think this is compatible with capitalism. Just nationalize BAE and Northrop and General Dynamics, etc. Keep the engineers on the payroll and keep the R&D going without the farce of procurement and contracts. And maybe, just maybe, we could use some of their spare capacity in peacetime for peaceful projects that would have military applications if war arises. Improving communications, transportation, computing, water treatment, power generation, etc. all could benefit the military and civilian worlds. Of course not everything would fit into that rubric, but at lest some could. Didn't Ford convert car factories into tank factories during one of the world wars, why can't we have an electric car factory set up and running that could be configured to churn out tanks at a moments notice? Same with planes too I'd imagine.