EVALUATING COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS

International collaboration in the development and production of defence equipment is said to reduce procurement costs and improve export prospects. However, critics argue that joint ventures cost more than national programmes, are more prone to cost escalation and take longer to complete. These claims are evaluated by comparing collaborative and national military aircraft using a variety of performance indicators. The evidence suggests that for military aircraft collaboration leads to cost savings and greater scales of output, with only limited support for the view that joint projects take longer to develop. There is little evidence that collaborative projects perform better in export markets than their national rivals.