Chaos, cash and COVID-19: How the defense industry survived and thrived during the pandemic
By: Aaron Mehta and Valerie Insinna March 15
Photo credit: Sgt. Wesley Timm/U.S. Marine Corps Photo credit: Sgt. Wesley Timm/U.S. Marine Corps WASHINGTON U.S. Air Force leaders faced a dilemma. The service needed a key raw material from Italy for one of its critical nuclear modernization programs. But in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, as industrial facilities shut down and transit between nations slowed, it was unclear how the material could reach the United States. Air Force officials were so worried that they eventually authorized military aircraft to fly to Italy to pick up the remaining supply in person, averting an interruption in one of the nation’s most strategic weapons programs.