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Concern Over Burn Rates

The New York Times has an extensive article with the somewhat inflammatory title “Arms Fiascoes Lead to Alarm Inside Pentagon.” While the Times’ reputation isn’t what it used to be, this article is recommended for several reasons, including its quotes from a number of senior Pentagon and Department of Defense sources right up to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.

The article is also significant because of the bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill over the skyrocketing costs of new weapons programs, which are often costing significantly more than the items they replace by a factor of 2 or 3. The new CVN 21 carrier, for instance, is expected to cost $13.7 billion – almost double its original estimate, and more than double the cost of a new Nimitz-Class carrier [NOTE: actual cost per ship is $8.1 billion – see DID’s explanation]. The resulting budget strains and force shrinkage are widely seen as serious issues, and forcing procurement process reviews.

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