[randomfool]

Generals in charge of software projects. I worked at Microsoft, I know how well non-technical overseers manage projects.

> "We're gonna find things that we didn't know about and are gonna have to deal with them, but at least this scheduleis laid out to accommodate unexpected problems."

Bullshit- they played schedule chicken and got caught. It'll happen again.

[einhverfr]

Actually it's worse than that. This is an ambitious project, to build an even more complex and cutting-edge software driven plane. Compare the inflation-adjusted cost of the B52 development cycle with that of the B2 and you will see where this is leading. Similarly between the B2 and the B52 we see a 100x increase in cost per unit, just as we see a similar increase between the F-4 Phantom and he F-22.

It doesn't take a technical person to figure it out. I have seen history professors with more sense than the generals here. In another hundred years, i suppose our entire defence budget will be enough to afford one fighter jet, which can be shared between the air force and the navy 3 days a week each, with the Marine Corps getting Sundays....

[guelo]

This guy is actually an engineer by training.

[gaius]

A general who has come up through one of the technical branches (e.g. engineering, signals, etc) is going to be as good a "CTO" as anyone.

[masklinn]

> Bullshit- they played schedule chicken and got caught. It'll happen again.

Yeah. And it's not just software either, the Osprey had very similar issues with its planning and handling.