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Learning and forgetting in the jet fighter aircraft industry

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  • Anelí Bongers

Abstract

A recent strategy carried out by the aircraft industry to reduce the total cost of the new generation fighters has consisted in the development of a single airframe with different technical and operational specifications. This strategy has been designed to reduce costs in the Research, Design and Development phase with the ultimate objective of reducing the final unit price per aircraft. This is the case of the F-35 Lightning II, where three versions, with significant differences among them, are produced simultaneously based on a single airframe. Whereas this strategy seems to be useful to cut down pre-production sunk costs, their effects on production costs remain to be studied. This paper shows that this strategy can imply larger costs in the production phase by reducing learning acquisition and hence, the total effect on the final unit price of the aircraft is indeterminate. Learning curves are estimated based on the flyaway cost for the latest three fighter aircraft models: The A/F-18E/F Super Hornet, the F-22A Raptor, and the F-35A Lightning II. We find that learning rates for the F-35A are significantly lower (an estimated learning rate of around 9%) than for the other two models (around 14%).

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  • Anelí Bongers, 2017. "Learning and forgetting in the jet fighter aircraft industry," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0185364
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185364
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    Cited by:

    1. Anelí Bongers, 2023. "Learning by doing, organizational forgetting, and the business cycle," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(1), pages 141-150, January.
    2. Santhakumar, Srinivasan & Meerman, Hans & Faaij, André, 2021. "Improving the analytical framework for quantifying technological progress in energy technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Thomassen, Gwenny & Van Passel, Steven & Dewulf, Jo, 2020. "A review on learning effects in prospective technology assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Gurkan Calmasur & Meryem Emre Aysin, 2020. "Regional Technological Learning in Turkish Cement Industry," Eurasian Journal of Economics and Finance, Eurasian Publications, vol. 8(4), pages 204-216.

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