A Case Study: The Problem With Defense Procurement

Over the past few years, the Swedes have looked at developing an advanced wheeled combat behicle, the SEP, developed by BAE^* subsidiary Hagglunds.

About 6 months ago, after a few demonstrators had been fielded, massive budget cuts came out for the Swedish military, and there was not enough money to buy a new class of vehicles.

They decided to go "off the shelf".

Well, now BAE and Hagglunds are declaring that the SEP is really off the shelf, because there are 4 pre-productions vehicles under construction....Yeah, right.

It's the iron triangle, also called the military industrial complex, at work.

Still, it's some pretty neat tech, doing 6x6, 8x8, and tracked on the same basic chassis.

It also has an active protection panel armor (see pics below):



^*Full disclosure, I worked at another division of BAE in 1995 and 1996 when the Carlyle Group sold me to buy Dunkin Donuts^†
†Yes, I have worked everywhere. Maybe I can't hold down a job, but more likely this has been my role as "technical hit man", where you are parachuted in to take care of a specific need.