"That may be what the us military was charged but not what it was worth. There is a history of the us being milked by corporations to supply items to them."
Yup, and they pay up.
Read a good article on that once. The only bit I clearly remember was a bolt retaining the canopy on a US fighter..... cost a fortune. At the end of the day, it was just an ordinary grade 8 high tensile bolt available in any hardware store, but sold as an aircraft part became costlier than an arm and a leg.
Imagine what F35 nuts and bolts cost....
