Keeping Major Naval Ship Acquisitions on Course: Key Considerations for Managing Australia's Sea 5000 Future Frigate Program - Softcover

"This study provides a program overview of acquisition options available for the Commonwealth of Australia's next generation naval surface combatant and identifies internal and external factors that can influence a major ship acquisition program. The authors address questions relating to available ship design and build options; various phases, options, and decisions; and aspects that can contribute to the success of an acquisition program. Three broad options for designing and building the new ship include a new design, tailor-made to Royal Australian Navy specifications and requirements; a military off-the-shelf design, which would involve making only minor modifications to an existing ship design; and an evolved military off-the-shelf design, which would involve making more significant modifications to an existing ship design. The authors discuss lessons learned as they apply to different phases of a shipbuilding program and highlight the lessons most applicable to the acquisition strategy selected."--Back cover.

John F. Schank (PhD in Information Technology (All But Dissertation) George Mason University) is a senior operations research analyst at RAND.