An Analysis of Operating and Support Costs in the Department of Defense
Abstract
To better understand operating and support (O&S) costs within the DoD, IDA undertook a broad-based investigation of historical O&S costs. The following research questions were formulated: (1) Has O&S spending grown faster than the budget? (2) If O&S spending has grown, what has contributed to the growth? and (3) Do O&S costs grow for weapon systems over time? To address those questions, IDA investigated the relationship between forces and aggregate O&S costs for FY 1971 to 1990. That investigation indicated that O&S costs are growing and that the primary sources of growth are DoD's primary mission programs and direct support programs. in general, O&S cost per unit of force structure is increasing, while, for most classes of weapon systems, O&S cost per dollar of capital asset value is decreasing. IDA also performed cost studies of individual aircraft to assess cost growth during the development and procurement phases of the acquisition process. Information on the F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft indicated that estimates of O&S cost tend to grow as a system progresses through development to production. Data on the F/A-18 program did not support this conclusion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA275991
Entities
People
- Alec W. Salerno
- Waynard C. Devers
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses