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3 hours ago, Inyo Tim said:

 

For the record, our contracts with the Navy were negotiated. 

One way the Navy priced individual repair components for the product, was to take the final product total cost, divide it by the number of parts in it. 

This established the cost of each part.  Each part cost the same whether it was a "bushing", "diode", etc. Or, the most expensive part of the product.

So, now you had Congressmen telling the public that that "diode" cost an astronomical amount.  On the other hand, the most expensive part, costing a God Awful amount, a good percentage of the total product cost, sold as a repair part for the same price as the diode.

This was after the Navy asked us to price replacement parts in this fashion.  Now the Navy, embarrassed by the public disclosed negotiated replacement cost of the diode, cried "Foul" we are paying too much!

My company had one customer, the Navy, no one else! So we were accused of screwing the Navy when the Navy asked to set the replacement parts cost in this manner.

We couldn't complain nor defend ourselves 'cause it would further embarrass the customer - the Navy.  If we embarrassed the Navy we were out of business.

So we were publicly humiliated and had to absorb the ridicule and say nothing.

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I have tried to explain the DoD procurement process  a few times and why toilet seats on Air Force cargo aircraft cost $5000.00 -- and a bag of washers cost $90.000.00.

As I have mentioned, the unit cost of an F/A-18E, F or G or an AV-8B or an AH-1D had little to do with the actual production cost: direct material, direct labor, fixed costs.

As I have also mentioned, and those that never experienced it will think that janice and I exaggerate, but everything, I mean everything is written down in a Statement of Work (a general description and gross figures for a project,) usually overseen by an O-7 ( 1 star) at least and depending on the size of the project, an O-8 or O-9,  accompanied by a bazillion lesser contracts for everything, down to toilet seats and bags of bushings, all negotiated over months and months of endless, useless meetings with endless useless lawyers for both sides.

So, was the price of a bag of washers negotiated?

Hell, no.

That makes too much sense and doesn't involve 200 lawyers.

As janice noted, we not only had to deliver an aircraft, but test equipment,  test jigs, maintenance tools, maintenance supplies, technical documents, training of military personnel, technical support for delivered aircraft, etc.

Keep in mind, much of those deliverables were by subcontractors -- who often negotiated their own deal with the company that had to be negotiated and approved by the customer - another 100 lawyers.

 

So, the true cost of anything is irrelevant; deliverables are costed based on some magic formula that no one understands, thus the bag of bushings, times how ever many bags of bushings the contract calls for over the life of the aircraft, that might cost $10.00 in the real world is costed as a percent of the total deliverable package over time, sans the actual aircraft, and if that comes up to $90.000.00, the government is happy, the company is happy, congress critters and bureaucrats are happy, so there are no complaints.

 

I apologize, but I can't really explain it in simple terms; the process defies sanity.

Don't ask about foreign sales.

Just don't.

:599c64bfb50b0_wavey1:

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Israel Launches Attack On Iran; Explosions Heard Near Military Base.
Israel launched an attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran during the early morning hours on Friday in response to Iran launching an unprecedented attack on Israel.
U.S. officials confirmed to multiple American publications that Israeli missiles struck sites inside Iran.
Initial reports said that explosions happened in the Iranian cities of Isfahan and Natanz. Although the targets of the attack have not been confirmed, both cities have significant facilities in the country’s nuclear program. Iranian state media later reported that none of the nuclear facilities in the area were hit.
Subsequent reports said that the explosions happened near a military base where Iranian fighter jets were located.
People in Isfahan said that they heard multiple explosions that “led to the houses shaking violently from the intensity of the explosions,” according to local reports.
Flight trackers showed multiple commercial passenger planes immediately rerouting and leaving the country, including flights that were about to land. Iran suspended flights in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who is the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said just moments after the news of the strikes became public: “Israel has the ability to conduct strikes against targets inside Iran without entering Iranian air space from aircraft over Syrian and Iraqi airspace.”
Fox News later reported that a U.S. military source confirmed that the strikes were carried out by manned aircraft.
The strikes, which were limited in scale, came after President Joe Biden did everything he could to prevent the Israelis from retaliating on Iranian soil after the Islamic regime launched combined more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel last weekend.
Shortly before the attack happened, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian threatened the U.S. and Israel while conducting an interview on U.S. soil.
“In case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level,” he said. “It will be decisive. Our response will be decisive through the Swiss embassy in Tehran.”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/israel-launches-attack-on-iran-explosions-heard-in-areas-with-nuclear-sites?topStoryPosition=1

***00 IAF WhatsApp_Image_2024-04-14_at_06.49.25-e1713068671176-1024x640.jpeg

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