Building the Polaris Missile System that Kept the Country Safe in the Cold War

US Naval History Podcast

This episode covers the history of the Polaris missile system, which was a key development in the Cold War that provided the United States with a submarine-launched ballistic missile capability. Madeline Zimmermann, an expert on defense acquisition, talks through the many trials and tribulations, broken rules, unusual bureaucracy-defeating strategies and a lot more.

We cover:

- Background on the development of ballistic missiles and the nuclear triad during the early stages of the Cold War

- The Navy's struggle to establish its own ballistic missile program, leading to the creation of the Special Projects Office (SPO) for the Polaris project

- The innovative management and acquisition practices used by the SPO, including decentralization, competition among contractors, and flexible requirements

- The role of strong leadership and the creation of the Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) as a bureaucratic cover for the project's success

- Lessons from the Polaris program that can be applied to modern defense acquisition, such as encouraging competition among buyers, resisting monopsony, and emphasizing leadership accountability

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Financially support the show here: https://www.usnavalhistory.com/#/portal/signup⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Madeline's Kinetic Reviews Substack:

https://kinetic.reviews/