Per Unit manufacturing/ Sales cost- kind of like Buying a car. You pay for the car, you get 2 services and stuff as a part of the deal. So a VW Polo costs 7.5 Lcs and so does Hyundai 120
Life Cycle- You own the car for 8 years. If you calculate the entire amount that you will spend on it for 8 years, that's your :LC cost. Hyundai gives more mileage so you'll spend less on fuel, If you bang it, Hyundai spares will be a lot cheaper than polo. A bumper might cost 6000 in Hyundai but 8000 for VW.
Threre are many expenses that you need on that fighter jet you're gonna buy- maintainence, spares, at least one mid-life engine replacement, etc. It is very possble that EFT is 20% cheaper but they make much more money by making the spares and other services up 30%. That's why Lifecycle costs are so much more a representation of actual costs.
Interesting fact in this context- did you know that during a typical 'gold rush', the gold prospectors are rarely as rich as the people who provide materials for them- canvas tents, shoes, spades etc. That's why Levis has been cranking out profits more regularly and consistently than many mining companies over the centuries...
