So what is it about the military, why are they so easy to rip off?
We have had guns that jam if they get slightly damp or dusty and when they get warm (so don’t fire too many rounds at once boys), boots the leak and leave everyone who wears them scarred for life due to horrendous blisters, tanks that can only travel a couple of miles on flat roads or they break down, airplanes that only just manage to fly, armoured cars that are armoured everywhere but underneath where the landmines are. The list is endless but now add Cormorant a £114 million digital communications backbone that the BBC reports “Has been withdrawn by the Ministry of Defence from front-line service after failings. Instead they have purchased a £300,000 system from Israel called Radwin “that is designed to work in severe conditions.”
Okay, so they pay £114 million for as system that is not up to the job and replace it with one costing £300,000, that is a considerable difference in price. I wonder how many kick backs were needed to persuade the guys with the purse strings that £114 million was a good price.
Cormorant first came into service at the end of 2004 in an attempt to standardise the various communication systems that were in service, but was well received by many, with a number of posts on the Army Rumour Service website, saying it has been "cursed with some of the worst procurement decisions, shoddy workmanship [and] non-existent quality control".
Read the full BBC News article 'MoD withdraws £114m comms system' at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8247143.stm
The Royal Signals - Cormorant
http://www.armedforces.co.uk/army/listings/l0085.html#CORMORANT
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