Actually, it is not really an issue about who owns the designs. Even though I think the company owns them.
Personally I think the tax-payers pay for the competition that allows companies to enter THEIR desings and the winning company is simply awarded the contract to build the aircraft, tank, etc. Don’t think that the design changes ownership at all.
Of course someone has to pay for the awarded contract and that is where the tax-payes money comes in this, IMHO, does not mean that the tax-payers or the goverment own the designs.
Example:
Unimog is a european design, the Lav-25 is manufactured by a Swiss company, neither does the USA own Clock, Steyr, Heckler & Kock, etc designs.
Regardless of what was said above the major part of licence fees these days is NOT the actual licence fee but the liability insurance which usually is way higher than the licence fee.
Why, I hear you ask?
Lets say a son of mine assembles a Model kit of a Ford and gets injured by the model do I sue the Model company or the desing holder aka Ford??
Ford will say not their fault speak to the Model Company who got liability insurance.
The liability insurance is a new(modern) way for a rights holder to cover their butt in case someone gets injured by something that carries their name.
Don’t believe me speak to any of the Kit/Model makers and they will tell you the same thing. Licence fees are small, liability insurances are what is killing the industry.
HTH.