The same people in the Pentagon who are telling us that there is little risk in the F14 program. told us the same thing about the Cheyenne based on the same type of "paper" studies by the contractor. Despite promises to reform the procurement procedures and to insist on testing prior to production commitment. the very first major aircraft program proposed by the new administration fails to meet these promises. I completely concur with the very sensible recent study prepared by GAO for Senator HART on parallel undocumented development. Given the technical risks associated with a complex fighter development. it would seem reasonable to insist on competitive flyoff of prototype aircraft prior to a selection of aircraft for production. While this approach may seem more costly and timeconsuming at first. it will assuredly lead to a better end product. and. in the long run. is likely to produce a usable fighter at less total cost and in a shorter period of time.
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undocumented