Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   Customer Service Date:   12/1/2016 10:03:07 PM

Congressional budget reductions for programs cause reductions in the number of items we planned to buy and then requires a lengthening of the schedule which costs the government money.  In many cases, the govenrment has to pay companies for breaks in production, so they don't have to lay off their highly skilled workers. Sometimes the government changes it's mind about what they want a weapon to do - they add bells and whistles based on the changing needs of the users, and that costs extra.  Sometimes when the production schedule has to be extended over a longer period of time, industry cannot take advantage of economies of scale for the parts.  Changes in technology available  and it has to be redesigned because the old technology is no longer available.  Reworks of software cost $$$.  then sometime people make a bad decision on the program and it ends up costing more money than the industry bid.  Testing costs a lot of money, and then they sometimes find out that things don't work as they should. 

Take JSF.  That is one of the most expensive aircraft ever built, but also one of the most complex.  It has loads of sensors, sensor data is then automatically integrated with other data and then displayed for the pilot.  Additionally, in order to even afford it in the beginning, we took on foreign countries (I think there were 7), who then demanded their industries be allowed to build stuff on it too.  As time went on, the users needed different versions, so that became additional design work.  Congress reduced their budget serveral times, so the Military Services has had to extend the production numerous times.  It all add up.

Then there are the systems that end up just not working or are not needed anymore. DoD tries to cut the program and Congress goes inot the budget and earmarks special funding to keep it going, because they don't want to lose jobs in their district.  So very few systems ever get cancelled.  I work with one that got cancelled by the Army 3 times and Congress restrored the funding 3 times.  On one system, the Army decided to have only one engine manufacturer for a system, then the company whined to Congress and Congress put special legislation in to fund another engine, which no one wanted. 

Congress is as much to blame as anyone for the cost of defense weapons systems.  back in the 1980s, who was the CEO of Martin Marietta and served as the Deputy Secretary for Acquisiton, wrote a book about what was wrong with the acquisiton system.  Don't know if it is still in print anywhere, but most of what he identies as the problems is still true today.