Document Information
Modernizing the U.S. Aircraft Carrier Fleet
Accelerating CVN 21 Production Versus Mid-Life Refueling
As the Navy builds the last of its Nimitz-class carriers, it asked RAND to study the trade-offs involved in accelerating the production of its new CVN 21 carrier while hastening the retirement of some of the Nimitz fleet. What are the trade-offs involved in terms of cost, capability, and fleet size? RAND researchers looked at the Navy’s existing plan and compared it with several alternatives and discovered that the Navy could modernize its fleet with the higher-performance, lower-cost CVN 21 at a cost premium no greater than 12 percent over its current plan. Allowing for the CVN 21’s greater capability might permit the Navy to justify a smaller fleet size while it modernizes, and aggressive cost-cutting moves could reduce the cost premium significantly. The authors find no industrial base impediments to accelerating the program and conclude that the importance the Navy attaches to the increased fleet value premium should determine whether the increased cost is a good investment.
Support RAND Research — Buy This Product!
Paperback Cover Price: $20.00
Discounted Web Price: $18.00
Pages: 124
ISBN/EAN: 0-8330-3720-X
Free, downloadable PDF file(s) are available below.
RAND makes an electronic version of this document available for free as a public service. If you find this information valuable, please consider purchasing a paper copy of the full document to help support RAND research.
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7.0 or higher for the best experience.
Contents
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
Fleet Modernization Options and Their Implications for Fleet Size and Composition
Chapter Three:
Adequacy of the Industrial Base
Chapter Four:
Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
Chapter Five:
Synthesis
Appendix A:
CVN 21 Design and Technology Advances
Appendix B:
Shipyard Production Labor Demand by Skill
Appendix C:
How Life-Cycle Cost Elements Were Estimated
The research described in this report was prepared for the United States Navy. The research was conducted in the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center supported by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies.
This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND monographs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.
Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.
* RAND research is conducted across divisions, centers, and projects; these organizational components are represented in the "Related RAND Divisions" section above.
Top
RAND® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 1994-2008 RAND Corporation. Last Modified: December 07, 2007 