🏆 Darwin Award – Worst Defence Procurement Deals
Only programmes where the government really PAID OUT more than USD 1 billion (2005–2025)
| Rank | Country / Programme | What went wrong | CASH ACTUALLY DISBURSED (USD B) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA – KBR / LOGCAP-Iraq logistics | Shoddy electrical work that killed troops, rampant over-billing; DoD cash-out 2003–2011 alone > $36 B | ≈ 36.0 |
| 2 | India – Tejas LCA | 40-year R&D loop, still not combat-ready; MoD ledger shows ≈ $10 B spent to date | ≈ 10.0 |
| 3 | India – Rafale MMRCA downsized buy | 10-year contest cut from 126 to 36 jets; $8.7 B already transferred to DGA/France | ≈ 8.7 |
| 4 | UK – Ajax armoured vehicles | Trials suspended so loud crews suffered permanent hearing loss; £ 3.2 B paid, programme still halted | ≈ 3.9 |
| 5 | UK – Type-26 Global Combat Ship | Six-year slip, first steel only 2017; £ 4 B cash gone, no hull operational | ≈ 4.8 |
| 6 | Australia – Attack-class submarines | Cancelled 2021; A$ 5.5 B in break-fees & sunk design cash already out the door | ≈ 3.9 |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia – SANGCOM (UK comms) | £ 2 B disbursed amid bribery probes; kit delivered but integration stalled | ≈ 2.4 |
| 8 | UK – E-7 Wedgetail AEW&C | 3-year delay, old air-frames; £ 1.3 B paid, RAF still flying 40-yr-old E-3D | ≈ 1.6 |
| 9 | USA – FY-2023 “inflation bail-out” | $1.05 B rushed out in one fiscal year to keep frigates, F-15EX, Apache, ESB ships on the production line | 1.05 |
| 10 | Canada – 2025 first-half defence contracts | Federal purchasing data show C$ 1.7 B (≈ $1.25 B) actually invoiced in only six months, 16 % to U.S. firms an annualised burn-rate above $2.5 B | ≈ 1.25 |
