Billions Down the Drain: Major Failures in Military R&D
Image courtesy of the U.S. Army.
Author: Sergey Komarin (Сергей Комарин)
May 1, 2025 | 1:57 PM
Ambitious Military Projects That Failed to Materialize
The military has always been a driver of progress, often setting highly ambitious goals for itself. However, sometimes these objectives become so complex and costly that even massive budgets cannot guarantee their realization.
The U.S. A-12 "Avenger II" carrier-based attack aircraft is one of the most typical examples of a failed large-scale military project. In the late 1980s, the United States set an ambitious goal - to create a "stealth" super-modern bomber. Aviation giants General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas were involved in the development of this aircraft.
However, it soon became clear that costs had multiplied several times over, and technical challenges were almost insurmountable. In 1991, after the project had already spent over $5 billion, it was officially shut down. During this time, no prototype of the aircraft was even built, and legal disputes between the Pentagon and contractors lasted for years.
Another costly failure in U.S. military projects was the RAH-66 "Comanche" reconnaissance attack helicopter. In the early 1990s, the Pentagon decided to replace its aging fleet of reconnaissance helicopters and invested in developing a futuristic helicopter capable not only of reconnaissance but also of effectively striking targets in radio silence mode.
The "Comanche" helicopter project was led by Boeing and Sikorsky. Complex technical requirements and constantly changing design concepts repeatedly increased the project's budget. Ultimately, after 22 years of development, the project was closed in 2004. American taxpayers lost over $7 billion, while the original plan was to build thousands of helicopters; in reality, only two prototypes were built.
However, despite its failure, the "Comanche" helicopter's futuristic appearance had an impact on pop culture. This helicopter appeared in numerous video games and even had a three-minute scene in the movie "Hulk" ("Халк").
But it wasn't just the U.S. that gained fame for expensive failures in military R&D. For example, during the peak of the Cold War, the Soviet Union had the idea of creating combat ground-effect vehicles, which could move at high speed like airplanes but at low altitudes and over water surfaces.
We are talking about projects such as the "Caspian Monster" ("Каспийский монстр"), "Lunokhod" ("Орленок"), and "Lun" ("Лунь"). The Soviet Union invested huge resources in the development of these machines. Several successful prototypes were built. However, ground-effect vehicles combine features of both ships and aircraft, thus inheriting the advantages and disadvantages of both. Ultimately, due to the complexity of the technology and insufficient funding, all subsequent developments were terminated.
Another unrealized project also belongs to the U.S. At the end of the 20th century, the Pentagon began developing a new generation of self-propelled howitzers, the XM2001 "Crusader," which should have been capable of ultra-precise strikes at distances exceeding 40 kilometers. The U.S. military needed a machine with high automation and mobility. United Defense received a multi-billion-dollar contract.
However, rapid changes in military tactics, emphasis on mobility and air power, reduced the need for heavy self-propelled artillery. In 2002, despite protests from U.S. generals, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld personally initiated the project's closure. By this point, approximately $2 billion had been spent. Ultimately, not a single "Crusader" entered service with the military.
So why do military projects frequently fail? Analysts believe that the reasons lie in the risks associated with high technology and the desire to outpace competitors, making research and development expensive and complex. Political factors also play a significant role, potentially abruptly terminating even promising projects. Therefore, with increasing military budgets and higher technological demands, similar failures are bound to occur again.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499701906957140534/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the views of the author. Feel free to express your opinion by clicking the "Like/Dislike" buttons below.