Cost as a Factor in Soviet Weapons Decisionmaking
Abstract
Intuitively, one believes that cost ought to be a significant decisionmaking factor in the Soviet weapons acquisition process. If that is indeed true, then DoD decisionmakers should be quite interested in when, how, and to what extent cost shapes the outcome of the Soviet weapons acquisition process. However, interest alone is not enough. There must also be sufficient data available about the role that cost plays in the process. With these perspectives in mind, the authors undertook this project, under IDA's Independent Research Program, aimed at: (1) ascertaining whether DoD officials were in fact interested in the impact of cost in shaping Soviet weapons choices, and, if so, where this concern might play in the U.S. decisionmaking process; as well as (2) identifying potential data to address DoD's concerns. The project was limited to about six man-weeks of effort (split between two analysts). Hence, the results are necessarily modest. Nevertheless, this preliminary investigation revealed that there is interest in the topic and that data are available to address several significant issues.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA217609
Entities
People
- Andrew W. Hull
- Peter B. Almquist
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses