At a time when Congress is wringing its hands over the projected future cost of Social Security and proposed universal health care, it does little to stop the frittering away of taxpayer money at the Pentagon. The Government Accountability Office said in a report released Monday that 70% of the 96 largest weapons programs were over budget last year, costing us a total of $296 billion more than estimated. The GAO described the Pentagon's management of contracts as "poor" and cost overruns as "staggering". Leading examples of the Pentagon's spendthrift weapons procurement process are the Air Force's F-22 Raptor, and the Navy's littoral combat ship, Freedom.The F-22 fighter jet was originally projected to cost $88B for 648 planes in 2009 dollars. Due to delays, changes and material price increases, the program is now expected to cost $73.7B for only 184 planes. The previous Secretary of Defense tried to rein in the escalating costs of the
Raptor, but was defeated by a powerful Capital Hill combination of the USAF, builder Lockheed Martin, and Congress members whose constituents derive economic benefit from the program. Critics of the technologically advanced fighter say it was overkill from the beginning since the United States' air superiority is unquestioned and the threat the Raptor was designed to counter, the Soviet Air Force, has changed. The current Secretary is reviewing the program and some analysts think he will cancel or curtail the program according to the NYT.
The Navy's program to build a new class of small, fast warships designed to operate in shallow coastal waters and support land operations has run into similar cost escalation. Also built by
Lockheed Martin, the cost of the Freedom more than doubled from the estimated $220M to $531M. The unfinished ship was launched on September 23, 2006. A larger trimaran prototype is being built by General Dynamics. This ship has also doubled in cost. Part of the reason for cost over runs was the Navy's decision to adapt commercial ferry designs for warships as a way to reduce development costs. Freedom was literally designed as it was being built. There were nearly 600 significant engineering alterations affecting the construction. Experts say its bulging price tag is an example of the Pentagon's procurement deficiencies reinforcing each other: changing design specifications, unrealistic manufacturer estimates and production schedules, an institutional preference for commercial products, a lack of in-house systems engineering expertise to manage sophisticated projects, and cost plus contracting in which the Navy agreed to reimburse the builder for cost overruns or government requested changes. The Friends Committee on National Legislation calculates that Americans' spend 44.4% of their tax dollars on war and the military compared to 19.7% for health care. Such profligate military spending is but one metric of the misguided attempt to create an American Empire {12/18/06} that requires global military operations to maintain.[chart: Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation, 2/2008]
[images: New York Times, AP]