Are large projects in the aerospace and armaments industries still manageable?

Over the last few years, the vast majority of the projects associated with the aerospace and defense industries have been put under the microscope on account of delays, cost overruns and qualitative shortcomings. This occasional report deals with the central issue of the backgrounds of these projects. An analysis of the latest programmes from the aerospace and armaments industries indicates that these problems can be traced back to four causal challenges:

1. The first challenge is a result of the large number of partners involved in the programmes in question and their various interests.
2. This results in the emergence of requirements that can only be fulfilled at a high cost. Excessive and non-reflective project goals are the consequences, which represent the second challenge.
3. The implementation of these project goals in a concrete product concept leads to the third challenge, which manifests itself in the form of a technologically challenging performance system. The results are high risks in
   development and production.
4. The strong need for developmental and production-related expertise and the associated capacities calls for a globally distributed network of development and production. This fourth challenge immediately leads back to the high number of partners involved in the programme. Such a multitude of partners is necessary, in order to provide
   the required expertise and resources and distribute the risks.

A detailed consideration of the A400 programme which takes the identified challenges into account clarifies the practical
relevance of the said challenges.The last section of the occasional report illustrates problem-solving approaches that have proved their worth in other organisations and sectors that face similar challenges.