McP,
I was referrring to the C-2 in particular for the limited production run....something like 58 of them as compared to the 300 plus for the Osprey as planned now.
The larger the run.....the less ancillary costs applied to each machine.
Harken back to the F-18 and the unit cost of the Sim and Tools assigned to each aircraft. If broken out by line item then the aircraft cost was much less but when the other costs were added to the aircraft unit cost, that number skyrocketed upwards.
Sometimes it might make sense to buy more of the things than you actually need....drive the per unit cost down...and get more aircraft for the same amount of money. A good example might be the Lockheed C-130.....look how many have been built and the advantage the buyers had as a result.
The trick is to find that happy spot where costs and number of aircraft cross on the graph and then get Congress to buy off on the deal.