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Notes -
The proper term is Senile. A senile weapons system can still do the job, but a steadily-increasing cost that can grow by orders of magnitude.
I think Ian McCollum would use the term "obsolescent." E.g., the M1911 and M1 Garand are incredibly out-of-date designs, but they absolutely cream revolvers and bolt-actions for combat practicality. The latter are obsolete, the former are obsolescent.
I think "Senile" comes into its own when you're talking about more complex weapons systems. A senile weapons system might work just fine, and in fact it might be the best system available for the job it does. The problem is that to do the job, the system requires ever-greater expenditure of effort and resources. As long as the effort and resources can be provided, it keeps working, but at the cost of cannibalizing a greater and greater portion of the procurement budget. And of course, the more resources a system and its auxiliaries consume, the more valuable they are, and the greater the need to protect them, so the more spending on additional complexity and auxiliaries is justified...
Yeah, I suppose this probably does describe, say, the A-10.
(And now to wait for the shitstorm to hit...)
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