When DND sets requirements, deadlines are usually set on the state of the equipment or a new requirement that has arisen because of a change in threats, and so you need something to deal with the threats. In most cases you're dealing with equipment that probably has to be replaced and is past its usable life, so you start to set deadlines.
The classic one right now is the Hercules aircraft. A number of them have been used at such a high rate that their life expectancy is only a few years. When you have a situation like that, you have to act as quickly as possible to try to deal with it. For example, one of the points we forgot to make with the C-17 is that the C-17 lifts four times the load of a Hercules. When you start using C-17s, you're taking a lot of the weight off the Hercules fleet so they can be replaced as quickly as possible, but deadlines are basically part of an analysis the military does.
In terms of value for money, if we're buying something essentially off the shelf--that is, we're not building it from the start and all the way through--we know, once the process is completed, what we're going after, and we essentially know what they cost. There's no secret out there in the planet. If you name some large military piece of equipment, whatever it is, within a day or two I can tell you what the price is, because other countries have paid for it. Government records everywhere in the civilized world are public, so you know what they cost, and you know approximately what you're going to get.
The public works minister is going to have to come to you and explain that. We said the other day that we basically obtained the C-17s at an 8% saving. Well, he was basing it on the world price; the prices are out there.
On your question about an emergency acquisition process and buying off the shelf, I didn't quite get the point you were making. What's the question you have?