It agrees that the Longbow must have a VROC of 450 feet per minute, and that it has to carry 12 missiles. It just doesn't think it has to do both at the same time. In order to do that, it needs to be both maneuverable and carry as many missiles as possible. The Longbow isn't the first case in which the Pentagon has dumbed down requirements for a major weapons program. When a weapons program doesn't meet one of its goals, the Pentagon simply redesigns the goal.
Taxpayers end up paying the same amount, or more, for a weapon that does less.
Chuck Spinney, a Pentagon analyst, points to the C-17, a new Air Force transport plane, as a classic example of a rubber baseline. That plane never met its original specs and it never will. Some officials, both inside the Pentagon and out, suggest there's nothing surprising about weapons development programs failing to meet their original requirements. The problem, they say, is that goals are set too high in the first place. Often, it's a result of contractors wanting to impress the Pentagon, which in turn wants to impress Congress.