The Pentagon’s $10-billion bet gone bad (capitalism, contractor, companies)
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Over the last decade, the agency has sunk nearly $10 billion into SBX and three other programs that had to be killed or sidelined after they proved unworkable.
Trying to fashion a shield against a sneak missile attack, military planners gambled on costly projects that flopped, leaving a hole in U.S. homeland defense.
Leaders of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency were effusive about the new technology.
It was the most powerful radar of its kind in the world, they told Congress. So powerful it could detect a baseball over San Francisco from the other side of the country.
In reality, the giant floating radar has been a $2.2-billion flop, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.
In addition to SBX, the programs were:
- The Airborne Laser, envisioned as a fleet of converted Boeing 747s that would fire laser beams to destroy enemy missiles soon after launch, before they could release decoys.
The cost: $5.3 billion.
- The Kinetic Energy Interceptor, a rocket designed to be fired from land or sea to destroy enemy missiles during their early stage of flight.
The cost: $1.7 billion.
- The Multiple Kill Vehicle, a cluster of miniature interceptors that would destroy enemy missiles along with any decoys.
The cost: nearly $700 million.
Source: http://graphics.latimes.com/missile-defense/
Expensive missteps really have become a trademark of the Missile Defense Agency. Like as the majority of latest Pentagon`s research activities.
Whatever the military wants the military gets. None of these projects have been shown to do anything to improve the lives of fellow Americans.
Although these moderately expensive systems had to be cancelled because they failed to function they were not entirely failures. They distributed money to suppliers, consultants, workers and the all important returns to stockholders. Projects like this are the only acceptable (along with Agricultural subsidies) form of central economic planning and corporate welfare.
The Department of Defense and its contractors have been very successful in having at least one and sometimes more Defense factories in every Congressional District. The success or failure of a project is how much money is spent in each district. On a larger scale the simple fueling of a War is a huge benefit to the oil suppliers. How large were the profits made by the petroleum companies owned by our and other country's (mostly Britain) investors over the last couple of decades of our Middle East colonial wars. How much did this waste of oil keep the prices at usurious levels?
Ever since the reorganization of the Military after the end of WW2 the primary task of the Defense Department has not been defending the United States from foreign enemies but the sustainment of Defense Industry profits. The big losers in all these years have been the Taxpayers and the needless loss of our dead and wounded soldiers. I can only assume the latter were a necessary cost of military corporate profits.
Expensive missteps really have become a trademark of the Missile Defense Agency. Like as the majority of latest Pentagon`s research activities.
Whatever the military wants the military gets. None of these projects have been shown to do anything to improve the lives of fellow Americans.
You haven't done anything to prove your point. Not all research results in successful hardware. If that was a requirement we'd never invent anything new.
A lot of money to you or me but not for the government. Tons of money is wasted, lost or spent foolishly. At least these sounded like trying something that could have big benefits.
Its like any other research many never amount to anything. I support such research as defense of the nation is #1 priority of federal government. Not being prepared has cost millions of live in past wars.
Over the last decade, the agency has sunk nearly $10 billion into SBX and three other programs that had to be killed or sidelined after they proved unworkable.
Trying to fashion a shield against a sneak missile attack, military planners gambled on costly projects that flopped, leaving a hole in U.S. homeland defense.
Leaders of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency were effusive about the new technology.
It was the most powerful radar of its kind in the world, they told Congress. So powerful it could detect a baseball over San Francisco from the other side of the country.
In reality, the giant floating radar has been a $2.2-billion flop, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.
In addition to SBX, the programs were:
- The Airborne Laser, envisioned as a fleet of converted Boeing 747s that would fire laser beams to destroy enemy missiles soon after launch, before they could release decoys.
The cost: $5.3 billion.
- The Kinetic Energy Interceptor, a rocket designed to be fired from land or sea to destroy enemy missiles during their early stage of flight.
The cost: $1.7 billion.
- The Multiple Kill Vehicle, a cluster of miniature interceptors that would destroy enemy missiles along with any decoys.
The cost: nearly $700 million.
Source: http://graphics.latimes.com/missile-defense/
Expensive missteps really have become a trademark of the Missile Defense Agency. Like as the majority of latest Pentagon`s research activities.
Whatever the military wants the military gets. None of these projects have been shown to do anything to improve the lives of fellow Americans.
Ever heard of "Research and Development? How about "Experimental?" Ever see what the Worlds first "Toaster" looked like? How many times did you fall down when learning how to walk?
Indeed the "Defense of the Nation" is one of the duties of the Federal Government. Defending the expected profits of Americans investing in places like Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia are not. Americans investing in those, or any other foreign markets like China, should be doing it completely at their own private risk.
Most of us do not share the profits so we should not spend trillions of public money to defend these private investors. Let the market be the market. Otherwise Capitalism is a sham and delusion.
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