It's worth noting that problems like this are pretty normal for new weapons systems. Th V-22 Osprey is a good example here: it seemed like a disaster when it came out, but it's now got its kinks worked out and is performing really well.
In this particular case it appears that two of the elevators are working, and the rest have hit snags due to mismeasurements that can be fixed with some re-welding. Behind schedule, but the tech appears to be fundamentally viable.
_The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey_
Eg, fixing the problems with the M16 wasn’t that hard: chrome the chamber and change the training program fixed a lot for very little cost and without too many casualties (you can always pull m14s out of inventory!)
Not so with an aircraft carrier, destroyer (rounds for the Zumwalt will never be made), and maybe the F35 will only occasionally decapitate it’s pilots
You can look at this as an example of how bad things are, or how good things are. For those who don't know, the Zumwalt class of destroyers is equipped with a special 155mm gun that can fire projectiles up to 160 km [1]. This gun can only fire a certain type of rounds that were produced and tested, but they turned out to be much more expensive than initially projected (by a factor of about 25, from $35k to $900k) [2]. The Navy decided to cancel the order, and to pivot [3].
"The Navy announced in February in budget justification documents that it intended to integrate Raytheon’s SM-6 missile and was changing the mission from a land-attack platform to a ship killer.
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s seapower subcommittee, Vice Adm. Bill Merz told senators that the slow development of the AGS prompted the change. [...]
The Navy has moved ahead with a plan to add SM-6 on to Zumwalt, which allows the Navy to engage surface targets and extremely long ranges among other missions.
In August, the Navy shot down a medium-range ballistic missile target with the SM-6, which uses a fragmenting explosion near its target as the kill mechanism."
In Silicon Valley people generally appreciate a good pivot, so some people may appreciate this one too.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Gun_System
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Land_Attack_Project...
[3] https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/04/19/advanced-gun-sy...
[0]https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2016/11/22/destroye...
Obviously that's not a good pattern, and the DoD should certainly improve its procurement process, but it's not the existential crisis it's made out to be in the media sometimes. The contractors keep working, and the system eventually is in a working state.