It’s also about the arms race. As you advance, so does your adversaries, so you have to keep advancing to maintain your advantage. You always need new, because the old gets destroyed or less and less effective over time. Once it becomes a large part of your economy- it’s vital to towns like any other big industry, and any cuts have have huge economic and political repercussions.
cleetusneck t1_ja8002q wrote
Reply to eli5: What does military industrial complex mean? by rustyyryan
It’s also about the arms race. As you advance, so does your adversaries, so you have to keep advancing to maintain your advantage. You always need new, because the old gets destroyed or less and less effective over time. Once it becomes a large part of your economy- it’s vital to towns like any other big industry, and any cuts have have huge economic and political repercussions.