One of the problems of allowing edicts from the top go forth based on spurious “science” is that you get unintended consequences. Most of the time it just costs the tax payers money and inconveniences. But when it affects national defense, it becomes apparent things have gotten ridiculous.
For the past several years, a serious problem developed in the radar guided air to air missiles carried by U.S. and foreign ally jet fighters. After racking up hours of high altitude flight, the AIM-120 AMRAAMs and AIM-7 Sparrows rocket motors failed to ignite on launch. Suffice it to say that a missile is useless if it can’t be fired off the rail in the first place and the AIM-120 is the main armament of the F-22A Raptor.
Since defense consolidation has resulted in single source suppliers since the end of the Cold War, the maker of the rocket engines, ATK, insisted it wasn’t their fault. You can get away with that to some degree when you have a monopoly. Well, the problem was finally identified after much hair pulling.
The engines have failed because federal environmental regulations forced a change to the chemical formula of the propellant. It makes me wonder what other wonderful surprises will be uncovered thanks to the asinine meddling of bureaucrats?
The good news is that another company can make replacement motors for the missiles. The bad news it that it is in another country, Norway. There go American jobs due to theoretically well meant intentions.
Stupidity has killed this once great nation and this is a small example of how.
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