08-24-2011, 02:36 PM
LRRPF52, I assure you living and working through that change was painful for us folks who were trying to do new things!
The average time from concept to IOC was about 15 years in the late '70s - Cold war was still alive and well. The F-14 went into IOC well prior to this time.
Our improvement management practices, coupled with aggressive minimization of fraud, waste, and abuse have resulted in adding ten years to that and significant increases in development costs. Look at B2, F22, and F35 for examples.
The real culprit is not so much micromanagement as it is our national perception that we don't need new improved systems just now. This creates an environment where the pressure to actually field a new system is so low that folks can play with them.
The average time from concept to IOC was about 15 years in the late '70s - Cold war was still alive and well. The F-14 went into IOC well prior to this time.
Our improvement management practices, coupled with aggressive minimization of fraud, waste, and abuse have resulted in adding ten years to that and significant increases in development costs. Look at B2, F22, and F35 for examples.
The real culprit is not so much micromanagement as it is our national perception that we don't need new improved systems just now. This creates an environment where the pressure to actually field a new system is so low that folks can play with them.