{{Short description|Aphorisms by Norman Ralph Augustine}} '''Augustine's laws''' were a series of tongue in cheek aphorisms put forth by Norman Ralph Augustine, an American aerospace businessman who served as Under Secretary of the Army from 1975 to 1977. In 1984 he published his laws.<ref>{{cite news |title=Augustine Laws |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WgwhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XnIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1109,6555752&dq=augustine's+laws&hl=en |work=United Press International |date=May 24, 1986 |access-date=2010-08-30 }}</ref> The book and several of the laws were the topic of an article in Sound and Vibration magazine in March 2012.<ref>{{cite news |author= David O. Smallwood |title=Augustine Laws Revisited |url=http://www.sandv.com/downloads/1203smal.pdf |work=Sound & Vibration Magazine |date=March 2012 |access-date=2012-09-02 }}</ref>
==Law 16==
thumb|300px|Exponential growth of aircraft cost.
His most cited law is number 16, which shows that defense budgets grow linearly but the unit cost of a new military aircraft grows exponentially:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Gregory C. |last2=Goldston |first2=Isaac |date=December 19, 2024 |title=Updating Augustine’s Law: Fighter Aircraft Cost Growth in the Age of AI and Autonomy |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/updating-augustines-law-fighter-aircraft-cost-growth-age-ai-and-autonomy |website=Center for Strategic and International Studies}}</ref> <blockquote>In the year 2054, the entire defense budget will purchase just one tactical aircraft. This aircraft will have to be shared by the Air Force and Navy 3½ days each per week except for leap year, when it will be made available to the Marines for the extra day."<ref name=laws>{{cite book | isbn = 978-1-56347-240-4 | title = Augustine's Laws | author = Norman Ralph Augustine | author-link = Norman Ralph Augustine | year = 1984 }}<!--| accessdate = 2010-08-30--></ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Defense spending in a time of austerity |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2010/08/26/defence-spending-in-a-time-of-austerity |newspaper=The Economist |date=August 26, 2010 |access-date=2010-08-31 }}</ref></blockquote>
==See also== *Moore's Law, where unit costs shrink with time *List of eponymous laws
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Rules of thumb Category:Technology strategy Category:Humour