There is going to be excessive spending as well as tremendous waste as long as the military does things be committee.
Make ONE man with a knowledgeable SMALL staff responsible for all acquisitions . Somebody you can actually place the blame on for boneheaded decisions,and whom you can praise for good decisions.
Most of all,ONLY place officers and NCO's in these positions whose careers revolve around the items/equipment they test and approve for use. Nobody with theories,no matter how many damn books he has written and theories he supports.
If you want to improve tanks,but career armor officers and NCO's at the head of testing and procurement. NOT just "armor branch" officers who have spent their careers as aides to multi-star officers,but officers and NCO's who have used their equipment in battle.
EVERY time I think of all the lost man-hours and all the millions wasted on procurement of a new main battle rifle my head wants to explode. The requirement for the future battle rifle is one that shoots a larger and heavier bullet than the 5:56 currently in use because we are no longer fighting in jungles,we are fighting in open,mountainous areas where we need a longer,heavier bullet better able to fight cross winds and hit targets hard at ranges beyond 300-500 meters,without excessive recoil.
That system already exists,and has existed since the late 40's/early 50's. It is called the FN-FAL in 7x57 mm. ALL procurement would have to do to field these rifles is to call FN in Belgium and say "We want a price on a freighter full of 7x57mm FN-FAL's,along with spare parts,armory tools,magazines,and accessories. When can you ship and where do we send the check?"
Done deal,and millions of taxpayer dollars and untold amount of time has been saved.
And "yeah,I do know what I am talking about when it comes to battle rifles and ballistics".