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4 confirmed "saves" since late 2014!! Ignoring the loss of life, according to Wikipedia, the cost of an F-16 is just under $20M. If we consider that two full

4 confirmed "saves" since late 2014!! Ignoring the loss of life, according to Wikipedia, the cost of an F-16 is just under $20M. If we consider that two full years, it's earning $40M/year!

jsmthrowaway 10y ago
"Earning?"
- kctess5 10y ago
  Presumably, they're implying that loss prevention is functionally equivalent to earning income, w.r.t. the bottom line.
- jandrese 10y ago
  Maybe "saving" would be a better word.
gcp 10y ago
4 saves in 2 years does sound very impressive. I guess these accidents were relatively common. That would certainly explain the development of this system, and how aggressive it's allowed to act.
donw 10y ago
Maybe a bit macabre, but I believe the cost of training a fighter pilot runs around $10 million total, so you can add that "savings" in as well.
- jessriedel 10y ago
  The statistical value of a life in the US is ~$10M as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_of_life#Life_Value_in_the_US https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_of_life#Life_Value_in_th...
tiplus 10y ago
Impressive tech, no question. However, I find it difficult to praise the technological advance of autonomous systems in any killing machine. I could care less about any cost savings for the tax payer in this context but I am glad that the pilot got to go home to his family that day.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
tim333 10y ago
The going rate for a new one is nearer $70m.