[M.D. Holloway]

Shaun,
I have aided in penning several mil-specs (now AMS) for Northrup, Lockheed and MD - they take any where from a few months to a few years to do, not the mention much of the testing required. If you are designing your battle armour for one type of foe and another appears that renders your stuff obsolete - tough.

The funding was in question becuase the warfare equipment was designed for one type of battle, this conflict with the roadside bombs and so forth lends itself for fighting a different way using different equipment. The US DOD can spin fast but not that fast.