Cost and Capability Differences in Land-Based and Sea-Based Tactical Aviation
Published Date: March 1, 1995
What are the cost and capability tradeoffs between land-based and sea-based tactical aviation? This recurring question reared its head again in 1994, when the Air Force presented certain cost data to the Commission on Roles and Missions (CORM). That data included cost estimates for F-15 and F-16 tactical fighter wings (TFWs), with each wing consisting of 72 aircraft. The Air Force also estimated costs for what it characterized as a 60-aircraft Navy carrier air wing (CVW), and the CVW's associated aircraft carrier (CV). Examination of the results has brought to light the fact that the model used to generate TFW costs and the one that produced the CVW/CV costs are quite dissimilar conceptually--the differences due largely to the treatment of indirect costs. As a potential contribution to the debate, we developed cost estimates that are directly comparable conceptually. This is a summary report. See 27 950019.00 for the complete study.
