The V-22 program development with Richard Whittle

Rick Whittle joins Eric Lofgren on Acquisition Talk to discuss his book. In this episode, we learn about the development of the V-22 tiltrotor technology. It allows an aircraft to take off and land vertically -- like a helicopter -- and transform its rotors to face forward -- allowing it to fly with the range and speed of a fixed-wing airplane. Rick Whittle tells us why the sales process between the contractor and Government is a "courtship"; the difficulties of a 50/50 partnership between companies with clashing cultures; what is intellectually corrupt about the way defense systems are tested; how the V-22 was saved from the chopping block by personal relationships in industry, the military services, and Congress; the challenges of fixed-priced development contracts; his experiences with the first V-22 deployment to Iraq; and much more. He also describes how the defense acquisition system impacted the long and sometimes tortured development of the V-22, and compares that to the very different experience of another defense program, the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. Be sure to check out both of Rick Whittle's books on The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey, and Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. Soundtrack by urmymuse: "reflections of u". You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.