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I'm surprised to see a supercomputer cross the 1 billion pound/euro/dollar mark.

Previous recent supercomputers seem to have cost in the low nine figures.

I realize the price tag includes a decade of operation but that still seems like quite a leap.

The "cost of ownership" is often approximately 33%/33%/33% for capital cost (annually), support (annually) and users& operations. Of course being government they probably don't account for the costs on an accrual basis.

Two machines, 5 years apart, and 66% non-hardware for ten years is, what, 250 or 300 millions for the pair of them?

I'm not sure what exactly they're including in the operating costs. If they include salaries for researchers, meteorologists, programmers, etc. I could definitely see it hit a billion over 10 years. But then it would seem a bit misleading to call it a "billion pound" supercomputer.

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