US Military downed by buggy software

[Alpine]

$12 billion down the pan

BUGGY SOFTWARE is costing the US military billions, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.


In 2006, the Defence Department spent $12 billion, or 30 percent of its software budget on research, development, testing and evaluation.

The issue has become more important because software has become crucial in the development of military equipment.

More than 80 percent of the development cost of the F/A 22 was the software, the rest was on the metal bits that surround the engine and make it go at many times the speed of sound. When something like the Joint Strike Fighter programme reports cost over-runs in its R&D budget, it is mostly because of software problems. Another issue is that projects are often over two or three years making it dead difficult for project managers to estimate the costs, it says here.