Brian Perkinson

To prepare for its next Defence White Paper, Australia is examining an enterprise-level naval shipbuilding plan. To support this effort, RAND researchers explore the feasibility of Australia sustaining a domestic naval shipbuilding industry compared with buying ships from foreign shipbuilders. The authors outline the complex consequences and trade-offs of both options.

One way for the Navy to operate its ships more cost-effectively might be for it to alter the deployment schedules of Navy surface vessels to get the greatest benefit in terms of operating efficiency and crew effectiveness. This report assesses the potential challenges and benefits associated with moving the deployment schedule of one class of ships the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class of destroyers to a 72-month operational cycle."