Liberal Talk Radio

Here’s why:

With the announcement by President-elect Barack Obama last week that Gates will remain in his job in the new administration, the Defense chief has been given broad new power to reshape how the Pentagon selects, designs and builds new weapons systems.

The decision to keep Gates could spell the end of the Army’s $160-billion Future Combat Systems program and dim Air Force hopes for large numbers of new high-tech F-22 fighter jets. At the same time, smaller projects — perhaps blimps or light planes useful for ongoing conflicts — are likely to find new support.

“It is going to be more of a Wal-Mart approach than a Gucci approach,” a senior Pentagon official said.

The FCS is largely a Boeing-led project, so sucks for them (it’s way overbudget and delayed), but needles to say I think Gates is right on here.