Defense Department Buying Junked Aircraft from Britain for Spare Parts

Government Savings or Another Sign of American Decline

Like many Americans The Dismal Political Economist is doing fine economically but he is also not near as at ease with his financial situation as he used to be.  For that reason he tends to fix things rather than replace them, and he is always on the lookout for scrapped items that he can salvage spare parts from.

It turns out the U. S. Government is in the same situation.  Recently Britain decided to retire a class of Harrier jets, and in a stunning coup (or sign of financial desperation) the U. S. is buying a bunch of them.

The government has agreed a $180 million deal to sell 72 retired Harrier aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps for use as spare parts, a minister said on Thursday.

It seems the U. S. has use for these

72 Harrier aircraft frames and associated parts which will be used as a major source of spares for the U.S. Marine Corps Harrier AV-8B fleet of aircraft," defence equipment minister Peter Luff told parliament.

And it’s a nice deal for everyone.  But it does raise the question whether or not this is a smart deal for the Defense Department, or an indication that the U. S. is moving another step towards becoming a scavenger nation.  Of course, it could be both.