What's wrong with weapons acquisitions? In the November issue of IEEE Spectrum, contributing editor Robert N. Charette examines the root causes of the massive cost overruns and failures. Behind the deterioration is a convergence of factors, including military systems that are more technologically complex than ever before and that rely increasingly on unproven technologies. Engineers, scientists, and technicians skilled enough to design, build, and de-bug such complex systems are scarce. The ranks of experienced DOD managers to oversee acquisitions efforts have also been thinned, even as the number of major military programs has proliferated.
Often, too, politics trumps technology and common sense. The situation has become so dire that even former top defense officials are weighing in with uncharacteristic pessimism and alarm. "Each day that the acquisition process continues to operate ineffectively and inefficiently is another day that the troops are not getting what they need, the country is less secure, and much-needed programs, both civilian and military, don't get funded," Charette writes.