“In 2020, the Pentagon paid Boeing over $200,000 for four of the trash cans, translating to roughly $51,606 per unit.”
Boeing charged $300 for an E-3 trash container until 2010. Once the 707 left US service, the bin stopped counting as a “commercial” item and Boeing stopped holding the price. Jamaica Bearings sold 13 radio filters that once cost $350 for nearly $49,000 each. The 1990s had more than 50 prime contractors and now there are five, and five companies with no rivals set whatever price they like.