Breaking Augustine’s law

Affordability versus effectiveness

In 1984 the American aerospace executive Norman Augustine famously wrote that the constant real increase in the price of military aircraft meant that by 2054 the US would be able to afford just one aeroplane. Augustine’s comment was only partly facetious.

It is probable that the time has now arrived when Western air forces and aerospace companies can no longer ignore the price/numbers crisis. Their challenge, to achieve an acceptable balance between quality, numbers and cost, has been brought into even sharper relief by the irresistible rise of unmanned aerial systems.

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