ABSTRACT
The demands of ambitious technological innovation also created significant problems for competition in defence procurement. The assumption underlying the logic was that it was possible to control the technical complexity of the weapons acquisition process and that a market based system would create a more balanced approach to the design, development and production of major weapons. The reforms introduced by the Thatcher government exacerbated rather than resolved the problems of cost escalation and delay in the defence procurement process. The Strategic Defence Review provided an ideal opportunity for the government to break the traditional mould that had shaped defence policy over the preceding 20 years. Interoperability with the armed forces of allies reinforced the commitment to the development of complex defence technologies. One of the principal arguments of this study has been that to achieve better financial and managerial control of major defence projects it is first necessary to develop an effective risk reduction strategy.
