By DAN CHAPMAN of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution who published this story on 4th April

The fate of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, assembled in Cobb County by 2,000 workers, should be revealed Monday when Defense Secretary Robert Gates unveils "a fundamental shift" in U.S. military priorities.

The Pentagon is alerting key members of Congress this weekend about plans to shrink spending on expensive weapons systems, including the technologically superior F-22. Gates, no big fan of the stealth fighter, will lay out 2010 budget priorities at the Monday afternoon Pentagon press conference.

The following appeared on Boston.com:

Headline: Gates readies big cuts in weapons

Date: Mar 17, 2009

"As the Bush administration was drawing to a close, Robert M. Gates, whose two years as defense secretary had been devoted to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, felt compelled to warn his successor of a crisis closer to home."

The full article can be read here

by Baker Spring

In an April 6 press briefing at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced sweeping changes in defense modernization. Included in this announcement were proposed changes to the nation's missile defense program.

In most instances, the changes to the missile defense program are at odds with the current and future missile defense needs of the United States and Secretary Gates's own stated principles regarding these needs. As a result, Congress and the American people need to understand why there are serious contradictions in Secretary Gates' announced plan.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee saying, "nothing is off the table" regarding defense spending cuts to the Pentagon's Future Combat Systems (FCS) programs. Five programs within the FCS, which is the army's principle modernization procedure, account for "half the total cost growth in weapons spending," according to Gates.

These words indicate a clear policy shift chosen by the Obama administration, which may seek to end, or at the very least reduce, Bush-era defense spending. The Pentagon has already proposed a budget of $580.3 billion, prior to the election of the new President. Obama, who has expressed his desire to overhaul the federal budget, is largely expected to target defense spending.

By Jeffrey Bradford, our North America correspondent

The UK media has been angsting about the role of peers as consultants recently and the possibility that people might actually be able to exercise an opportunity to speak with, inform and possibly lobby the odd legislator.

The Wall Street Journal yesterday published the results of the latest data on lobbying spend submitted to Congress by the biggest US contractors. The league table for 2008 reads;

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) $20.6m ($10.9m in 2007)