International collaboration in the development of military equipment, like the four-nation Panavia Tornado (below), can cut participants' funding by around a third, but can adversely affect production costs and reduce savings from economies of scale, says a UK National Audit Office (NAO) report assessing the strengths and weaknesses of international collaboration. Greater economy of scale benefits are expected in the near term, however, after inter-government agreements and industry restructuring, the NAO adds. Only 2% of cost overrun on UK international programmes can be attributed to "co-operative factors", is says.
Source: Flight International