Re:The U.S. Air Force just admitted the F-35 stealth fighter...
by colechristensen on Wednesday February 24, 2021 @03:44PM
(#26255585)
No, its the acquisition process and administrative overhead.
If you give smart people with a good idea a lot of resources to chase it while insulating them from people who want to measure/validate/manage/mandate, you often get good results and sometimes get complete failures.
It is a problem of middle management interfering with the development process, red tape, trying to do everything at once, and requirements that constantly change.
I read a headline and article like that and my immediate reaction is the military leader probably wants to make a name for himself spearheading a new plane – ambition on the part of customers in military acquisition is a real problem. (why are navy ships so big? because navy captains wouldn't feel as important with more, smaller ships)
The problems have little to do with the end-stage production manufacturing, and a lot to do with the engineering R&D.
If you give smart people with a good idea a lot of resources to chase it while insulating them from people who want to measure/validate/manage/mandate, you often get good results and sometimes get complete failures.
It is a problem of middle management interfering with the development process, red tape, trying to do everything at once, and requirements that constantly change.
I read a headline and article like that and my immediate reaction is the military leader probably wants to make a name for himself spearheading a new plane – ambition on the part of customers in military acquisition is a real problem. (why are navy ships so big? because navy captains wouldn't feel as important with more, smaller ships)
The problems have little to do with the end-stage production manufacturing, and a lot to do with the engineering R&D.