We do not have socialized defence system. And to say so displays a degree of ignorance of the subject matter. In your own post you managed to name two companies that routinely compete for defence contracts. There are many more to boot, and every single time the government makes a request for a certain type of weapon, or aircraft, or tank etc.... all these companies will build a prototype and put together a bid for the contract. The US gov then weighs the bids against one another and chooses the one that will best help the military accomplish its goals (usually the cheapest bid ). This is a capitalist system, Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon etc. are the shop proprietors, and the US Government is the informed penny pinching consumer. It is a system promotes innovation and technological advancement while at the same time forcing the competing companies to keep their prices as low as possible. The beauty of capitalism............