I want to puke : Military has spent $32 billion since ’95 on abandoned weapons programs

[n2doc]

By Marjorie Censer, Updated: Friday, May 27, 11:00 AM
The Army’s Comanche helicopter was envisioned as “the quarterback of the digital battlefield,” a technologically superior aircraft that could hide from enemies, operate at night and in bad weather, and travel farther than any other helicopter.

Gen. Richard Cody, a former vice chief of staff of the Army, called it the “most flexible, most agile” aircraft the country had ever produced.

In 2000, it ranked as the most important planned buy for the Army. Four years later, the program — which had consumed close to 20 years of work and nearly $6 billion — was abruptly shuttered.

It is one of 22 major Army weapons programs that have been canceled since 1995, ringing up a price tag of more than $32 billion for equipment that was never built. A new study commissioned by the Army, though not publicly released, condemns the service’s efforts as “unacceptable."

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/army-report-military-has-spent-32-billion-since-97-on-abandoned-weapons-programs/2011/05/23/AGwuqjCH_story.html

And yet we allow the Repukes to distract us over $300,000 "questionable" science studies...and 'waste and fraud' in WIC and other programs that actually help people.

[Oceansaway]

1. k & r...nt

[sharp_stick]

2. The favorite of my time

was the damned Crusader (XM2001) self propelled howitzer. Rumsfeld even figured out that the damned thing was way too expensive and shitcanned it in 2002 (>21 million per gun, about 4 times more than the more effective German PZH-2000). It wasn't any better than the already available Paladin system except that it was 3mph faster and used 2 fewer men to operate.

The ability for the Pentagon to toss money down a hole for their buddies at General Dynamics or Raytheon is amazing and sickening. It looks like they might be finally taking a look at the way it's run. Now if they would only do something about it. I'm not holding my breath though.