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Home » Politricks » The Plane to Nowhere

The Plane to Nowhere

DP2-web.jpg

This is the kind of story that puts a smile on the face of inves­tiga­tive jour­nal­ists and throws con­gress­men into a tizzy.

Our friends over at the Center for Defense Information put together a com­pelling report on the kind of ear­mark pro­gram thatll make DT read­ers want to reach through their com­puter mon­i­tors and wring Capitol Hills neck.

The DP-​​2 air­craft: A jet-​​powered STOVL air­craft designed by DuPont Aerospace shoved down NASA and the Pentagons throat that one con­gres­sional com­mit­tee says was first pro­posed by Tony duPont thirty-​​five years ago. Since then, every gov­ern­ment review of the design of the DP-​​2 air­craft has found it tech­ni­cally flawed, Capitol Hill at its best!

The CDI report is appended below:

Straus Military Reform Project adviser Jason Vest dis­cov­ered an avi­a­tion pro­gram for a plane called the DP-​​2, which after 20 years of American tax­payer fund­ing still cant fly. This avi­a­tion pro­gram owes its birth and ongo­ing exis­tence to almost 20 years of ear­marks from cur­rent and for­mer mem­bers of Congress, includ­ing Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-​​Calif.), Dana Rohrabacher (R-​​Calif.), and for­mer Rep. Chris Cox (R-​​Calif.), who is now chair­man of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, among others.

Vest spent the bet­ter part of nine months inves­ti­gat­ing the his­tory and cur­rent sta­tus of the DP-​​2 pro­gram, which is under the aus­pices of the Office of Naval Research/​NASA. What he found was a fas­ci­nat­ing his­tory of how ide­o­log­i­cal visions over tech­no­log­i­cal exper­tise, cam­paign con­tri­bu­tions, lob­by­ing fees and con­gres­sional bul­ly­ing of the Pentagon have cost the American tax­pay­ers nearly $100 mil­lion for an air­plane the mil­i­tary doesn’t want or need and either blows up or crashes every time it’s tested.

As a result of Vests and oth­ers con­gres­sional inves­ti­ga­tions, the House Science and Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a three-​​panel hear­ing on the DP-​​2 on June 12, 2007, to exam­ine the test­ing mishaps and man­age­ment of the avi­a­tion pro­gram. The sub­com­mit­tee found that despite safety con­cerns over the air­craft, poor man­age­ment of the pro­gram and the com­pa­nys lack of adher­ence to safety pro­to­cols and pro­ce­dures, the U.S. gov­ern­ment is still fund­ing the development.

In fact, the fis­cal year 2008 fed­eral bud­get has a $6 mil­lion ear­mark reserved for the DP-​​2, all for an air­craft that even the U.S. mil­i­tary the group its being devel­oped for has rejected. 

You can also read the ABC news story on the DP-​​2 deba­cle here

An addi­tional $6 mil­lion is being pro­posed for the 2008 fis­cal year, sup­ported by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-​​Calif., the for­mer Armed Services Committee chair­man who’s now run­ning for president.

Hunter’s dis­trict is close by the duPont Aerospace Company in La Jolla, Calif., that’s build­ing the plane, and he and other Republicans have got­ten tens of thou­sands in dona­tions over the years from Anthony duPont, the com­pany president. 

– Christian

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June 15th, 2007 | Politricks | 356740 Comments »http://defensetech.org/2007/06/15/the-plane-to-nowhere/The+Plane+to+Nowhere2007-06-15+18%3A13%3A16Ward You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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