A great deal of this is really done to win political favors (Senator X needs a big federal program in his state), or to reward lobbyists (the guys at Lockheed really helped me out in the last election), and to provide a jobs program (lots of people are basically unemployable -- let's have them "build an airplane" for a few years).
It's amazing that we ever get a weapon system that functions.
And, oh by the way, when we DO get a weapon system that functions, we work very hard to kill it -- like the A-10 or the F-22.
Quite right. Though the majority of people who build airplanes are not unemployable. They’re the kind of people who would find other jobs if an airplane factory wasn’t hiring.
I’d add the F-14 to your list.
You got it exactly.
Its a big win from the contractor perspective - between overruns, design changes, rebaselines and every other idiot tactic they will haul away billions with a B in taxpayer cash.
They could care less if anythinng useful emerges from that. Why should they? They didnt make the system so stupid.