"Is that comment based on your experience of test flying or your experience of working in a pub"
Both - it has been remarked about on here for years how long it now takes to specify an aircraft, design it, produce it,, test it and bring it into service.
It also takes forever to train people
Of course part of it is that things are more complex but a cynic might think a lot of it was large organisations protecting their future
Those who remember the Falkland's and the first Iraq war will remember how things suddenly happened in days that were scheduled to take years to come to pass