It does sound like it, OAP and that seems to be the view of the BOI too.
But does the blame really lie with the procurement process? The quoted price figure for TCAS fit seemed enormously high. Why? Presumably because someone has insisted on a gold plated specification. Surely an off the shelf system could have been fitted for a fraction? It wouldn't offer protection during air combat or formation but would anything?
Ditto for the PLB. The RAF could have gps-enabled 406 MHz ones in life jacket pockets tomorrow for £199.95 a pop. How many years before that does get sorted and at what cost?