Business Case Analysis of Medium Altitude Global ISR Communications (MAGIC) UAV System.

摘要

This study is a business case analysis of a Medium Altitude Global ISR Communication (MAGIC) UAV system. The MAGIC platform is analyzed together with three other medium-altitude ISR platforms. A cost model for RDT&E and O & S for the MAGIC is developed based on historical data. A baseline case for MAGIC is then developed with Average Production Unit Cost (APUC) of $17M, RDT&E cost of $510M, and discount factor of 0.025 for the analysis. A Net Present Value of Life Cycle Cost (NPVLCC) and a return ratio as defined by the ratio of the NPVLCC of alternative platforms to the NPVLCC of MAGIC are used in the analysis. Results are presented for 500, 1000, 2000, and 3000 nm ranges. MAGIC outperforms Reaper and Global Hawk, while Predator outperforms MAGIC at the 500 nm. MAGIC outperforms all others in the 1000, 2000 and 3000 nm range. The analysis is extended to cover other payloads for the same ranges. The results show that MAGIC is favored over Reaper for 1000 nm and 2000 nm range, and the return ratio is marginal for 500 nm. MAGIC is favored in all ranges when compared with Global Hawk.