Military hardware: what do users want?

• Position: WASHINGTON PULSE

At a time when the Pentagon is under orders to make "tough choices" about which weapons it should acquire, military buyers may want to consider paying more attention to what troops in the field really need.

Sometimes, less can be more. The F-22 fighter jet is the greatest in the world, but soldiers in urban firefights could use more A-10 close-air support airplanes, which are far less costly. "Why don't we build more A-10s? The F-22 pilot can't look at what I see on the ground. The F-15 pilot goes by way too fast. The A-10 pilot can almost read my handwriting," said Ben Collins, a former Army Special Forces officer who served in Afghanistan.

Another example is...