[ravager]

The point is US military industry is nothing like Russian and European military industry that needs overseas sales for their survival. US military industry will very well survive even without any overseas sales.

[ponder life]

The US Military, overall, will survive. But companies would like to keep their production as long as possible. For example, the F-18 have had some Navy orders as a result of the delayed F-35 program. However, additional overseas orders will help keep the F-18 run longer once the current Navy orders are filled.

Also, while most of the F-35 will be purchased by the US military (about 2000 or so), an additional 1000 is expected to be purchased by foreign customers. This additional 1000 will help in reducing the per unit cost of the US purchase of her 2000.

Overall, foreign sales help bring down the cost of what the US military ends up paying for their hardware.