For anyone wanting to see the background of these "design by committee" government projects, watch The Pentagon Wars [1]. It's a comedic insight as to how groups design a product that's too late, too large, too expensive, too hard to build, and possibly doesn't work. The story is based on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle [2].
[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144550/
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Fighting_Vehicle