Mend em and Backseatjock
Sometimes overruns and cost rises can't be helped, such as the shenanigans resulting from the Germans prevaricating over Eurofighter in the early nineties and the general bun-fight over workshare on this and other multinational projects. However, notwithstanding political and ministerial pressures and wrangling, you still expect the company to produce the goods. Typhoon still isn't deployable in the A/G role and now they're pi$$ing about with carrier variants.
I totally opposed the decision to axe MRA4 but if BWoS had conceived a more achievable design that could have been fielded nearer 2000 than 2010 then the dilemma wouldn't have arisen.
The same SoS (Portillo) who foisted MRA4 on us also insisted on foisting a smaller number of problematic and less capable Mk3 Merlins on us instead of a greater number of Chinooks for the same money (the RAF's preferred choice).
Why buy Apaches off the shelf from Boeing when you can get Westlands to build them for twice the price?
Army Wildcat = white elephant.
I don't disagree that we should be wary of the promises of any company, foreign or domestic, who are touting for business but you cannot deny that the defence of this nation has been harmed by politically motivated procurement choices.