No. I don't agree. The "defense budget" is so bloated that it could be cut in half and the US would still out spend the entire rest of the world combined. It's just another racket.
In the last three decades billions of tax dollars have been pumped into contracts AFTER it was known that the projects being funded were never going to be viable.
It's got far more to do with personal relationships within Congress than actual validity of project.
If your a Junior Senator sitting on a defence cuts panel and the most bloated and useless spending is in the area of a very powerful and influential member....
You're not going to make an enemy by doing what is economically sensible.
USA spent billons to design a zero gravity pen that would work in space.
USSR sent up cosmonauts with PENCILS.
America's extreme wealth has created a culture of 'appropriations sophistry'.
It's a form of welfare
But much of the funding ends up in the pockets of America's wealthiest citizens.