Australian Defence has declared initial operating capability (IOC) with the Wedgetail aircraft, so says this this press release.
"The Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) Wedgetail aircraft has achieved Initial Operational Capability,..."
But is it true?
One of the anonymous Internet mind-guards who help to push the message of various tribal elements within the Entrenched Defence Bureaucracy isn't so sure:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gordon Branch
Did anyone else notice the that The E-7 Wedgetail has achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC)?
Depends on how the Proj defined IOC. There is no standard definition and my understanding is that there is still a fair way to go.
Sometimes there is confusion because the Proj may meet "Interim" rarther than "Initial"
the former is a compromise used to get the platform up and about but still work towards meeting OC
All in all, I'm suggesting that the claim about meeting real world IOC may not be so as the press release claims
In fact I know its not so.
Is the Wedgetail ready for IOC? I don't know. I do know that it was delayed for years; and was looking at shooting for a 90 percent capability of the original expectation after experiencing technology problems.
The root cause of Wedgetail problems appeared where they do in many ill-conceived projects: in the beginning. Numerous identified risks were waved away by the program leadership as being workable. Later when those identified risks evolved into show-stopping problems, the Wedgetail became a project management object lesson.
So, either the Defence Minister's office, the DMO and RAAF are wrong and trying to push an alleged success story where none exists or the anonymous mind-guards are wrong.
This has the potential to be a worthy topic of interest at the next Senate Estimates get-together.
I am curious how the Minister's office will address this gross difference in communication?
