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Chapter 6 of 34Space & aerospace4 min read · 2 exhibits

Three Price Tags

Why do estimates range from $185 billion to $3.6 trillion?

Chapter summary

The DoD, the CBO and AEI price different systems over different horizons; the interceptor layer is the main difference.

Key takeaways

  1. 1

    CBO: $1.191T over 20 years, with interceptors ~70% of acquisition.

  2. 2

    AEI: a constrained architecture costs ~$471B over 20 years; the most capable ~$3.6T.

  3. 3

    20-year cost tends to run two to three times first-five-year acquisition because satellites must be replaced.

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