“Steady As She Goes”

That’s a nautical term, but it can apply to the skies as well. The Pentagon’s new aviation-spending plan shows that the number of warplanes in its inventory will be “relatively constant” from now until 2022. It’s going to cost us $770 billion over the coming decade to maintain a force of this size, which includes a 50% increase in drones. “Inventory levels are subject to change in response to operational needs, industrial base considerations,” the Annual Aviation Inventory and Funding Plan reports, “and fiscal constraints.”