This episode covers the history of the Polaris missile system, which was a key development in the Cold War that provided the United States with a submarine-launched ballistic missile capability. Madeline Zimmermann, an expert on defense acquisition, talks through the many trials and tribulations, broken rules, unusual bureaucracy-defeating strategies and a lot more.
We cover:
- Background on the development of ballistic missiles and the nuclear triad during the early stages of the Cold War
- The Navy's struggle to establish its own ballistic missile program, leading to the creation of the Special Projects Office (SPO) for the Polaris project
- The innovative management and acquisition practices used by the SPO, including decentralization, competition among contractors, and flexible requirements
- The role of strong leadership and the creation of the Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) as a bureaucratic cover for the project's success
- Lessons from the Polaris program that can be applied to modern defense acquisition, such as encouraging competition among buyers, resisting monopsony, and emphasizing leadership accountability
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