Researcher: U.S. defense pact boom over

NEW YORK, March 15 (UPI) -- U.S. prime defense contractors will see pullbacks in spending as big-ticket weapons systems are replaced with smaller projects, a defense researcher says.

"I think we're coming to the end of the boom," World Policy Institute Arms Trade Project President William Hartung says.

"The Iraq war will, I think, increasingly deal with nuts and bolts, not big-ticket weapons systems, and there's already some talk about reducing spending on things like the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter to make room for spending on troop increases," Hartung told The Dallas Morning News.

The F-22 Raptor is a stealth fighter and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is a single-seat jet specializing in tactical bombing and air-to-air combat.

The amount of money the U.S. Defense Department awarded to prime contractors has more than doubled since President George W. Bush took office, to $294 billion in 2006 from 2001's $144 billion.

But last year's 8.7 percent increase was the smallest during the Bush administration.

Hartung says he expects 5 percent of the 3 million defense industry jobs will be lost as a result of the slowdown.