One of the biggest gambles in the history of the defense business came to an inglorious end last week. Los Angeles-based Northrop said it would halt development of the F-20 fighter jet after spending $1.2 billion on the still experimental plane, known as the Tigershark, over the past eight years. The decision came two weeks after the Air Force rejected a proposed contract to buy 270 F-20s for $3.5 billion. The Pentagon decided instead to upgrade an equally large fleet of General Dynamics F-16s at a cost of $2.3 million each -- only one-fifth the F-20's $12.8 million price tag.
Defense...
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