Flashy concepts reverse the procurement sequence

Acknowledging a national vulnerability publicly creates pressure to act and makes inaction easier to challenge. That accountability is one reason offered here for governments avoiding candid risk assessments. A separate objection is that publishing an exposure could alert another state, although other countries already have people capable of identifying such weaknesses. Avoiding these assessments can leave procurement starting with a striking image and borrowed systems before the ship's role is clear. Backfilling the mission during development brings redesign and additional cost. In this criticism of procurement practice, building only parts of a force and invoking changed circumstances can repeat the weak planning that produced the original program.