Defense Acquisitions. Challenges Associated with the Navy's Long-Range Shipbuilding Plan
Abstract
The Navy is embarking on an ambitious undertaking to develop, design, and construct a number of new ship classes to support operations on, under, and beyond the world's oceans. The Navy expects these vessels to successfully execute missions in a variety of environments through use of advanced technologies, while utilizing reduced crews and greater automation to lower costs. The Navy also expects these vessels to be constructed in quantities that sustain the industrial base and increase the number of Navy ships. There is tension inherent among the multiple objectives of the plan. For example, demanding mission requirements can result in more costly ships that cannot be built in the numbers desired for presence and shipyard workload. Requirements to reduce manning can actually demand more automation and sophistication, which can translate into higher acquisition cost. These tensions presage the potential tradeoffs that will likely have to be made. The key is to anticipate and make trade-offs early in the context of the overall shipbuilding strategy. If the Navy starts more programs than it can finish within available resources, it may be forced to make trade-offs in the future that it would not find acceptable today.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 30, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA446782
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office