DOD official warns high costs will doom new hardware projects

The Pentagon’s top weapons buyer on Wednesday promised
greater senior-level scrutiny of new weapons programs, warning that those deemed
unaffordable will be halted early.

Saying it is clear the post-9/11 national security spending
spree has ended, Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter told an audience in
Washington that defense officials “are not going to start any [program] we
can’t finish … that we can’t afford.”

During the George W. Bush administration, the defense sector
was flush with federal cash, giving Pentagon and industry officials the luxury
of throwing money at troubled programs. Now such projects will likely be axed
before the first inch of steel is bent.

{mosads}Pentagon acquisition officials plan to closely examine
military services’ plans for several new projects: the Army’s Ground Combat
Vehicle (GCV) effort, the Air Force’s new long-range bomber aircraft program,
and the Marine Corps-led Presidential Helicopter initiative.

Carter said he will weigh in on plans for those systems just
as he did when Navy officials presented plans and cost estimates for a new
nuclear-powered submarine showing each model would cost $7 billion. 

The acquisition chief instructed Navy officials to go back
to work and find ways to make a cheaper design while not giving up any
attributes needed in battle. Since that instruction, the Navy has trimmed the expected
cost of each new nuclear sub to $4.9 billion.

Carter suggested more DOD hardware contract competitions
will be structured like the Air Force’s most recent KC-X tanker race. 

The tanker competition, won by Boeing after a decade-long
fight with European rival EADS, put a high premium on meeting crucial
requirements at a low price and operating on a fixed-price contract that pushes
industry to deliver on its promises.

“We are confident” about getting a “tanker that will be
affordable,” Carter said.