Rep. Duncan Hunter☼ found an experimental airplane that he thought might work and forced the Pentagon to spend millions on it over 20 years and long after the Pentagon said it would never work. (emphasis mine)
In 1990, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, issued a scathing report on the DP-2. DARPA found that the jet had poor stability and serious safety issues. Among other things, the jet's engines created dust storms that could erode visibility; its long-range fueling system was “unadvisable”; and its stealth capabilities – which Hunter cited as a major reason for supporting the project – made it only “marginally more survivable” than other aircraft.
As a result, DARPA decided to stop testing the aircraft, declining to use the $15 million that Congress had allocated at the time. But Hunter told The San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday that he disagreed with DARPA's rationale.
“If you look at DARPA in an objective way, it's for advanced research, and that means that it's looking at a whole bunch of projects that may not work,” Hunter said.
Hunter needs to spend more time with his daytime job.
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