4 ms·

Next-gen fighters are moving in the direction of quadruple-gold-plating

• Gravityloss 10y ago
  You probably love Norm Augustine's writings...
  • rhcom2 10y ago
    I hadn't heard of these before, the one you're referencing probably is: "In the year 2054, the entire defense budget will purchase just one tactical aircraft. This aircraft will have to be shared by the Air Force and Navy 3½ days each per week except for leap year, when it will be made available to the Marines for the extra day." but Law Number XI might apply to this audience the best: "If the Earth could be made to rotate twice as fast, managers would get twice as much done. If the Earth could be made to rotate twenty times as fast, everyone else would get twice as much done since all the managers would fly off."
    • Gravityloss 10y ago
      Yes, and he wrote a really good article recently for Aviation Week's 100 year theme number that expands on that [1]. Basically, how could aircraft cost increase, when it's at the level of the aircraft's weight in gold? You can't add hardware that would increase cost... unless you invent something that uses no space and has no mass. It's software. x: http://aviationweek.com/defense/next-100-years-norm-augustine http://aviationweek.com/defense/next-100-years-norm-augustin... (paywall)
      • dingaling 10y ago
        The weight-in-gold metric was first passed by the B-58 in 1956. So 60 years on and we're now at weight-in-platinum I think.