26 Weapons the Military Regrets Ever Purchasing

"Not every weapon that enters military service becomes the game-changer it was advertised to be. Some turn out to be unreliable, dangerous, or just way too expensive to justify keeping in the field. These missteps matter because they reveal how sometimes ambition or politics, and even flawed engineering can collide in disastrous ways. Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at how the military might be regretting some of these purchases."

"Weapons that failed in the field aren't just historical footnotes, instead they're lessons written in cost overruns, political pressure, and sometimes the lives of the troops who had to use them. When a military program collapses, it exposes gaps in strategy, procurement, and engineering that shape the next generation of defense planning. Looking back at the systems the military regrets purchasing helps explain why today's weapons undergo such intense testing and why skepticism exists around newer flashy programs."

Many weapons introduced into military service failed to meet expectations due to unreliability, danger to users, or prohibitive costs. These failures often stemmed from ambitious goals, political pressure, or engineering flaws that combined to derail programs. Examination of regretted purchases used historical and military sources, chronological organization, and supplemental details on country of origin, manufacturer, type, and specific failures. Failed systems produced cost overruns, operational risks, and sometimes casualties, prompting reevaluation of doctrine, procurement, testing, and training. Such failures increased skepticism toward flashy programs and led to earlier and more rigorous testing, accountability for procurement decisions, and lessons applied to future defense planning.

Read at 24/7 Wall St.