USS Zumwalt ammo is expensive!!! - Page 2

Mike Abberton · 11-11-16, 10:59 AM

This situation is, at least in part, an unfortunate factor in the way the US government procures new products. They wrap a lot of the R&D and the initial tooling/production setup costs, which are a fixed dollar amount, into the first batch of weapons ordered.

So originally, they were going to have 28 ships and something like 650 rounds per ship.

28 x 650 = 18,200 rounds x $50K/round = $910M

Some portion (probably a substantial one) of that $910M is the fixed amount and some is the pure per unit cost.

In the meantime, the US Navy reconsiders the program and downgrades the initial order to 2000 rounds, but it still has to pay all the fixed costs. That's how the per unit cost jumps to $800K-$1M per round. Now, being a brand new type of round, I am sure the $50K was an ambitious number to begin with, but it's not like the pure per round unit cost increased by 1500%-2000%. If there was a follow-on order for Zumwalt rounds, they would not likely be $800K each (but probably not $50K either).

The same thing happened to the F-22, is happening to the F-35, and to a bunch of other big government programs. The bigger the jump in technology, the more likely these things are.

11-11-16, 10:59 AM	#16
Mike Abberton Electrician's Mate Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 135 Downloads: 42 Uploads: 0	This situation is, at least in part, an unfortunate factor in the way the US government procures new products. They wrap a lot of the R&D and the initial tooling/production setup costs, which are a fixed dollar amount, into the first batch of weapons ordered. So originally, they were going to have 28 ships and something like 650 rounds per ship. 28 x 650 = 18,200 rounds x $50K/round = $910M Some portion (probably a substantial one) of that $910M is the fixed amount and some is the pure per unit cost. In the meantime, the US Navy reconsiders the program and downgrades the initial order to 2000 rounds, but it still has to pay all the fixed costs. That's how the per unit cost jumps to $800K-$1M per round. Now, being a brand new type of round, I am sure the $50K was an ambitious number to begin with, but it's not like the pure per round unit cost increased by 1500%-2000%. If there was a follow-on order for Zumwalt rounds, they would not likely be $800K each (but probably not $50K either). The same thing happened to the F-22, is happening to the F-35, and to a bunch of other big government programs. The bigger the jump in technology, the more likely these things are.