>>3824621
Like every army ever except for a few brief interim periods where the soviets were being retards, but even they aren't a counter example, because they came to their senses having previously attempted to use said private manufacturers equipment unsuccessfully. Hiring on foreign investors to run weapons manufacturing.
Since the dawn of man, weapons development was either some guy making weapons for his own use, a independent craftsmen making weapons for others, a entrepreneur training others to make weapons of their design for others, or a craftsmen making weapons under contract of someone else's design.
Any sort of creative pursuit cannot be divorced from the cost of it's operations.