Spiraling Out of Control: How Missile Defense's Acquisition Strategy is Setting a Dangerous Precedent

摘要

Missile defense has long grabbed headlines, thanks to disputes over foreign policy implications, technical capabilities and cost growth. One dimension of its development, however, could have ripple effects long after the George W. Bush administration has left office: the acquisition model of spiral development. This process has resulted in a behemoth of a weapons system - the single most expensive weapons system in the Pentagon's annual budget - that is held to no firm development benchmarks, has complete freedom of action in setting its own priorities and has no end in sight to its cost increases. Unfortunately, the Pentagon is working to establish spiral development as the go-to model for weapons development, which could compromise US national security.