kinda creepy. This showed aired Oct. 30. 6 weeks before the Dallas crash. Same plane with software glitch.
What alot of people don’t realize is exactly how the defense budget works here. But first, remember that the Shunk Works projects were off the books and subjected to congressional scrutiny, this is important for the next part. Defense appropriation s and budgets essentially work this way, if you end at a positive balance at the end of the year, a surplus, your budget next year is reduced! Yes, that is correct, there is zero incentives for the military, lobbyists, senators and reps w defense plants in their areas to reduce spending.
That’s why we hear stories of $500 hammers and $5000 toilet seats, the money has to be spent and no one audits in the last minute fire sale. Now factor in development of new systems, if you don’t over run you run the real risk of that programs budget being reduced, regardless if the program has merit and satisfies an actual need. But you don’t get that next star for saving money or providing something useful, you don’t get that Raytheon job on retirement to lobby Capitol Hill using the contacts you made on the taxpayers dime.
The system is rigged to go thru money like my wife at Target after payday. Throw pillows or intercoastal frigates that are not seaworthy, just doesn’t matter. Aluminum skin thats slighter thicker than a beer skin covering an APC whose mission is take troops into a firefight, no worries. The list goes on, no branch is immune (except the Marines in all honesty, they make do with retreads and leftovers) no project not realistic my own branch, the Navy, wasted over 5 billion on a fanciful railgun that showed early on that it wasn’t feasible. But decades later at over 5 billion wasted they walked away…
So I’m an equal opportunity hater of these programs no matter the branch. I’m sitting here wondering what happened to Navy doctrine that we are trying to adopt a single engine fighter when common sense dictates two based on where the Navy operates from-the middle of nowhere in the ocean. A plane flying routine mission that has one engine fail midflight can still limp home on the one if it’s a twin engine design. Otherwise said pilot is treading water for a long time.
End of my rant…
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It was my understanding, the issue of those arise from let’s call poor contracting and inventory management. Those items them self are listed a national priority items because they can deadline an aircraft or vehicle. Manufacturers destroy the tooling etc when a run is completed and DOD orders minimal numbers at a time. So while the item should be available a reasonable cost, we have to pay for new tooling each time and at low numbers the cost for each is high. Having speciality designs vs COTs items doesn’t help.
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Only cause we have had lots of practice at it. We typically don’t get shiny new toys as our budget is so small cause Dad doesn’t like to spend money on his step child but he also doesn’t want to get rid of us either. We can screw up projects too, AAV replacement for example.
All that or
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There is an element to that certainly. Often times the stories we read fail to mention that say the USMC has a $2 million surplus that the way the budgets are worded that next year’s budget is a) frozen then at the previous years and b) reduced by the surplus. Because of accounting they aren’t allowed to roll a surplus because God forbid a branch is actually controlling costs. That’s why bids exist for lady minute spending which are not competitive and compared to consumer markets make no sense. Spend it or lose it, smh.
And you are spot on, the USMC is the red headed step child, which is ironic because they are typically one of the first forces deployed (based on their mission and structure). To say the get hand me downs is an understatement but sure, they have had specialized programs in R&D that went sideways but compared to every other branch I’ll always say the Marines are smarter with their budget be ause they have to be and practice it pretty well when allowed.
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