EVALUATING COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS

International collaboration in the development and production of defen ce equipment is said to reduce procurement costs and improve export pr ospects. However, critics argue that joint ventures cost more than nat ional programmes, are more prone to cost escalation and take longer to complete. These claims are evaluated by comparing collaborative and n ational military aircraft using a variety of performance indicators. T he evidence suggests that for military aircraft collaboration leads to cost savings and greater scales of output, with only limited support for the view that joint projects take longer to develop. There is litt le evidence that collaborative projects perform better in export marke ts than their national rivals.