I have a theory that the westernised industrial culture went to crap the
moment they started teaching Project Management at university, adding
countless levels of bean-counting and overhead to engineering projects.

To a large degree, the engineers WERE the project managers in the 70s and if
you take the F100 engine as an example things really fell apart as the
durabilty and reliability specs were non-existant. Too much new technology and
mainoy just a performance (thrust) spec. A large part of the F-15/F-6 fleets
were grounded due to the stall stagnation issue. Then GE and Pratt were
competed against one another and miracles happened. Also programs became far
more multi-disciplined and program management morphed into an integration role.

The problem isn't ptogram management, it is dealing with all the people who
want a piece of the action all the way down to the Congressional reps who have
one tiny supplier to the prime in their districts, and the ones who MIGHT get a
new base or a base buildup. Defense programs mean jobs and votes so
Congressional oversight is intense, even in semi-black programs. That lead to
far more reviews and requirements management that slow down development and
production.