Reuters lists some of the most abject fiascos of the Bush / Rumsfeld era.
And this is merely the tip of the iceberg.
And this is merely the tip of the iceberg.
FACTBOX-Problems plague Pentagon arms buying
Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:12pm EDT
July 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy's decision to cancel its next-generation DDG-1000 warship after spending $10 billion to develop and build just two ships is the latest in a spate of problems with Pentagon acquisitions.
Following is a list of weapons programs that have faced cost overruns, schedule delays, ethical issues or other contracting difficulties in recent years:
* July, 2008: U.S. Navy decides to halt DDG-1000 destroyer program after construction of first two ships by Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and General Dynamics Corp (GD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), given a shift in military needs and independent estimates that the cost of the first two ships could swell to $5 billion each from the current price tag of $3.3 billion.
* July, 2008: Lawmakers demand firings after a congressional report found that supervisors in the Pentagon agency that audits weapons contracts used intimidation, harassment and threats to get their employees to alter audits in favor of contractors including Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Northrop.
* July, 2008: The U.S. Army announces it may cancel a $6.2 billion Textron Inc (TXT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) armed helicopter program after finding projected costs have soared more than 40 percent above initial estimates.
* June, 2008: Defense Secretary Robert Gates reopens a $35 billion aerial tanker competition after the Government Accountability Office found flaws in the Air Force's handling of the selection process that picked Northrop and its European partner EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) over Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). He puts chief Pentagon arms buyer John Young in charge, not the Air Force.
* June, 2008: Gates forces Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley to resign over errors in the handling of nuclear weapons and parts. The move comes amid signs of strain between the Air Force and the Pentagon over mission priorities and the F-22 fighter jet.
* April, 2008: Wynne disciplines a top Pentagon official and four others involved with a $50 million Thunderbirds air show contract after an investigation showed the deal was "tainted with improper influence." Lawmakers question why Moseley, also named in the investigation, was not disciplined, and request a deeper probe by the Pentagon Inspector General.
* March, 2008: Pentagon acquisition chief John Young says a new presidential helicopter program run by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is facing cost overruns of more than $4 billion, prompting schedule delays and a major restructuring.
* December, 2007: Pentagon scraps Space Radar, a multibillion program to track moving targets from space. It also cuts funding by $4 billion from a planned network of laser-linked communications satellites, the Transformational Communications Satellite program (TSAT).
* April-November, 2007: Navy Secretary Donald Winter cancels the second of two shore-hugging littoral combat ships (LCS) being built by General Dynamics, and the second of two LCS ships being built by Lockheed after big cost overruns. Analysts believe the cost of the first two LCS ships could be around $600 million, nearly three times initial estimates that the ships would cost $220 million.
* June, 2007: Pentagon restructures $13 billion General Dynamics amphibious vehicle program, slashing planned purchases by more than 40 percent and delaying the program, after billions of dollars of cost overruns and reliability issues.
* February, 2007: The Pentagon decides to cancel Lockheed's work on upgrades to 62 of the oldest C-5 transport planes, cutting nearly $10 billion from the program, after the cost of proposed upgrades to 111 airplanes soared to $17.5 billion from an initial estimate of $11.1 billion.
* February, 2007: The Pentagon's internal watchdog launches audit of contested $15 billion helicopter program to see if the Air Force followed the rules when it changed requirements for the aircraft. The Air Force was forced to reopen the bidding after the GAO twice upheld protests filed by Lockheed and Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). The Air Force had picked Boeing to build the helicopter.
* September, 2005: The Pentagon terminates the Future Imagery Architecture program, a classified Boeing project to build a sophisticated next generation of spy satellites after over $4 billion in cost overruns and a spate of technological issues. Initially slated to cost $5 billion, the program's projected cost had threatened to swell to $18 billion.
* October, 2004: Darleen Druyun, the former No. 2 acquisition official at the Air Force, is sentenced to nine months in federal prison for negotiating a job with Boeing while still overseeing billions of dollars of its contracts with the company. The former finance chief of Boeing, who hired Druyun, is later sentenced to serve five months in prison.
* February, 2004: In a dramatic turnaround, the Army cancels its $14.6 billion Comanche helicopter program. to be built by Boeing and Sikorsky, after costs more than quadrupled, prompting six restructurings.
* May, 2002: Then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld decides to cancel the Army's $11 billion Crusader gun system, saying it had been designed to fight Cold War battles and the Army needed lighter, more mobile weapons for future fights. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
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Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:12pm EDT
July 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy's decision to cancel its next-generation DDG-1000 warship after spending $10 billion to develop and build just two ships is the latest in a spate of problems with Pentagon acquisitions.
Following is a list of weapons programs that have faced cost overruns, schedule delays, ethical issues or other contracting difficulties in recent years:
* July, 2008: U.S. Navy decides to halt DDG-1000 destroyer program after construction of first two ships by Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and General Dynamics Corp (GD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), given a shift in military needs and independent estimates that the cost of the first two ships could swell to $5 billion each from the current price tag of $3.3 billion.
* July, 2008: Lawmakers demand firings after a congressional report found that supervisors in the Pentagon agency that audits weapons contracts used intimidation, harassment and threats to get their employees to alter audits in favor of contractors including Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Northrop.
* July, 2008: The U.S. Army announces it may cancel a $6.2 billion Textron Inc (TXT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) armed helicopter program after finding projected costs have soared more than 40 percent above initial estimates.
* June, 2008: Defense Secretary Robert Gates reopens a $35 billion aerial tanker competition after the Government Accountability Office found flaws in the Air Force's handling of the selection process that picked Northrop and its European partner EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) over Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). He puts chief Pentagon arms buyer John Young in charge, not the Air Force.
* June, 2008: Gates forces Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley to resign over errors in the handling of nuclear weapons and parts. The move comes amid signs of strain between the Air Force and the Pentagon over mission priorities and the F-22 fighter jet.
* April, 2008: Wynne disciplines a top Pentagon official and four others involved with a $50 million Thunderbirds air show contract after an investigation showed the deal was "tainted with improper influence." Lawmakers question why Moseley, also named in the investigation, was not disciplined, and request a deeper probe by the Pentagon Inspector General.
* March, 2008: Pentagon acquisition chief John Young says a new presidential helicopter program run by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is facing cost overruns of more than $4 billion, prompting schedule delays and a major restructuring.
* December, 2007: Pentagon scraps Space Radar, a multibillion program to track moving targets from space. It also cuts funding by $4 billion from a planned network of laser-linked communications satellites, the Transformational Communications Satellite program (TSAT).
* April-November, 2007: Navy Secretary Donald Winter cancels the second of two shore-hugging littoral combat ships (LCS) being built by General Dynamics, and the second of two LCS ships being built by Lockheed after big cost overruns. Analysts believe the cost of the first two LCS ships could be around $600 million, nearly three times initial estimates that the ships would cost $220 million.
* June, 2007: Pentagon restructures $13 billion General Dynamics amphibious vehicle program, slashing planned purchases by more than 40 percent and delaying the program, after billions of dollars of cost overruns and reliability issues.
* February, 2007: The Pentagon decides to cancel Lockheed's work on upgrades to 62 of the oldest C-5 transport planes, cutting nearly $10 billion from the program, after the cost of proposed upgrades to 111 airplanes soared to $17.5 billion from an initial estimate of $11.1 billion.
* February, 2007: The Pentagon's internal watchdog launches audit of contested $15 billion helicopter program to see if the Air Force followed the rules when it changed requirements for the aircraft. The Air Force was forced to reopen the bidding after the GAO twice upheld protests filed by Lockheed and Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). The Air Force had picked Boeing to build the helicopter.
* September, 2005: The Pentagon terminates the Future Imagery Architecture program, a classified Boeing project to build a sophisticated next generation of spy satellites after over $4 billion in cost overruns and a spate of technological issues. Initially slated to cost $5 billion, the program's projected cost had threatened to swell to $18 billion.
* October, 2004: Darleen Druyun, the former No. 2 acquisition official at the Air Force, is sentenced to nine months in federal prison for negotiating a job with Boeing while still overseeing billions of dollars of its contracts with the company. The former finance chief of Boeing, who hired Druyun, is later sentenced to serve five months in prison.
* February, 2004: In a dramatic turnaround, the Army cancels its $14.6 billion Comanche helicopter program. to be built by Boeing and Sikorsky, after costs more than quadrupled, prompting six restructurings.
* May, 2002: Then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld decides to cancel the Army's $11 billion Crusader gun system, saying it had been designed to fight Cold War battles and the Army needed lighter, more mobile weapons for future fights. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
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