The whole "Has to do everything to get funded" type problem, was very apparent with the Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle[0]. The result was so misguided, if not comically bad, they made a movie about it, Pentagon Wars[1]
The "has to do everything to get funded" is definitely not a new problem, it's structural.
"The Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results" (January 1, 1983) includes an article by William R. (Randy) Simpson about Murphy's Law, where he notes in a haha-only-serious way the many predictable problems that happen because of it. It's not online as far as I can tell, but the book can be purchased: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Journal-Irreproducible-Results/d...
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Fighting_Vehicle
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pentagon_Wars