The Aerospace Industries Association last week pushed back against comments made by the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, who in unusually strong language raised concerns about consolidation in the defense industry.

Frank Kendall, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, said this week that continued consolidation of major defense firms could limit competition, stifle innovation and eventually result “in higher prices to be paid by the American taxpayer in order to support our warfighters.”

And Kendall said he feared a future where the Pentagon “has at most two or three very large suppliers for all the major weapons systems that we acquire.”

But in its statement, David F. Melcher, the chief executive officer of the AIA, said that as defense spending tightens and there is continued budget uncertainty, “it’s no surprise that industry is looking to become leaner and more efficient.”

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