The Packard Commission, a Financial Critique.

Abstract

This thesis evaluates the Packard Commission recommendation to use commercial integrated circuits in military application form an economic perspective. The research indicates that while the procurement cost of Qualified Products List (QPL) devices is higher than commercially procured devices, the reliability of QPL devices is significantly better vis-a-vis the commercial integrated circuit. The primary contributing factor in the high procurement costs appears to be a result of having to manufacture QPL integrated circuits in the continental United States, not because of excessive documentation as claimed by the semiconductor industry in general. Furthermore, utilization of the QPL process does not have a negative impact on the availability of integrated circuits. Rather, the availability of such circuits is increased.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA188214

Entities

People

  • Michael P. Tryon

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Circuits
  • Commerce
  • Contracts
  • Electronics
  • Fabrication
  • Government Procurement
  • Integrated Circuits
  • Manufacturing
  • Military Applications
  • Procurement
  • Reliability
  • Semiconductors
  • Standards
  • Test Equipment
  • United States
  • United States Naval Academy

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Industrial Economics
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics