Pricing Ourselves out of the Market: The Attack Submarine Program.
Abstract
Present high costs of nuclear attack submarines have led to reduced procurement rates and will lead to significantly reduced force levels in the 1990's. The paper examines the impact of these reduced levels in order to suggest possible steps to mitigate their severity. An analysis is first made of possible roles for submarines under a variety of wartime scenarios; submarine employment is determined to depend more on invariant Soviet naval missions than on the precise nature of a future war. The interaction of U.S. submarine capabilities and Soviet Navy missions suggests the most important use of submarines is in anti-submarine warfare, both for sea control and for protection of carrier power projection forces. Dealing with the projected decrease in submarine force levels by reducing missions, improving effectiveness of existing forces and building more submarines are each examined; the examination suggests that no totally satisfactory solution exists given the probability of continued austere shipbuilding budgets. The analysis concludes that a mixed approach including procurement of less expensive (and less capable) nuclear submarines after 1985, extension of service life of some existing submarines, and various other steps is required to maintain submarine warfare capabilities. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 27, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA079599
Entities
People
- Linton F. Brook
Organizations
- Naval War College