Some replies from the weapons labs and operations offices to a question or set of questions from Starbird in about June 59 seem to indicate that DMA and PC perhaps people higher than them want an explanation as to why systems and devices are more and more costly all the time and the weapons developments seem to take longer and longer. The general tone of the replies is that one of the most common developments being made in weapons is to make them smaller to attain the same yield and this leads to the use of certain materials which are much more costly hence increasing the cost. The complexity of the systems is noted. As for the length of time to attain a new development in a weapon or in the technology, this is mostly the result of the fact that the field is no longer new and that to make a truly significant improvement is much more difficult than if was 10 years previous. In reading further it seems that these questions may in part be based on the problems with the interrelationsh ip between the complex DOD systems and the AEC devices that must be carried. This may have something to do with ‘the "wooden" bomb concept which was to simplify the early design to take into account the relationship between the carrier and the device and not incur the cost or run into problems at the end of the line.