Why Major Acquisition Programs Fail | AVIATION WEEK
The link takes you to an
Aviation Week item from a few weeks back. Not a technical piece but easy reading, and I could certainly recognise the traits discussed in military programmes I have observed over many years. It isn't F35-specific and it's short on answers, but then so are we all. While finances stay tighter than a duck's posterior, it's very important we do things different next time. If we are awash with cash then you just keep spending it until it does what you said it would, but it's hard to see when those days might return. I see the USAF have also recently said their budget for F35A will not increase, so if the price goes up, the units purchased will come down.
It's part of F35's woes that it is facing unprecedented (in recent times) global financial headwinds. In other times, it might have raised much grumbling but the bills would have been paid. Equally, there seems to have been some very optimistic assumptions. Over-confidence in CAD for instance, that has delayed the programme to the point where it has been caught in a financial storm it might otherwise just have sneaked in front of and missed the worst.
I have no doubt that lots of people are now shedding blood sweat and tears - and then some more - to try and get it back on track. The cost is now out of the window and it's too late for it to be anything other than really ugly (not that it's the first military procurement to suffer from that). The acid tests now will be that the output matches or exceeds the input ie it meets the KPP's, and that it is still relevant when we get there. I wish the people charged with the responsibility for the first bit the luck to match their efforts. The second bit, I just wish all the users waiting for it all the luck in the world too.