Rand: 'Help Needed'.

A drop in research and development funding will become a critical problem for major U.S. aircraft builders by the end of the decade when Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 program will dominate military research, testing and production, according to a new Rand Corp. report. Rand analysts project that the minimum needed to keep a company viable is a RDT&E funding level of $250-500 million annually. Any delays in the joint strike fighter program could slow onset of the R&D funding crisis for Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed Martin for a short time.