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Most would be quite surprised by how resourceful the military can get when a need arises. It's simultaneously impressive and scary.

If some officer can cobble together a proof of concept from COTS parts and show that it is just as reliable and effective as the boutique stuff from Raytheon, et al., at a way cheaper price, you bet that it will be met with considerable attention if not approval. Most ground-based military drones these days are controlled with Xbox controllers because those controllers are cheap and ubiquitous. In the 90s, Doom (with mods) was pressed into service as a simulator to help teach Marines fireteam tactics.

About the most stiff-necked branch of the U.S. military is the Navy. I'd be more surprised if the Navy approved a PS3 supercomputer, especially if it were to be run aboard ship.

There is a lot of innovation in the contracting/procurement space with Government. As an example, check out AFWERX.

me too. Large, even medium-large private bureaucracies may have also made it a challenge.