Study suggests Navy speed up sub work

[Michael H. Standart]

From the Pilot OnLine:

Study suggests Navy speed up sub work

quote:

A new study released Monday recommends the Navy accelerate design work on its next class of submarines or risk losing vital shipyard skills and driving up shipbuilding costs.

Speeding up design work would add stability to shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News, helping the yard maintain a work force of experienced designers and engineers.

The Navy already has embraced the advice, said John Schank, a senior analyst and lead author of the study for Rand Corp.'s National Defense Research Institute. The Navy commissioned the group to do the study.

Story at http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=124191&ran=20473

Comment: Probably one of the great ironies of our time is that even with computer aided design tools to speed things up, it takes literally decades to design new submarines whereas back in the fifties, it took just a few years to do it with little more then slide rules. Of course, the fact that warships of any kind are a lot more sophisticated is a fact that can't be ignored. For all that the Ohio class is one of the most sophisticated submarines in the world, the fact remains that it's a design that had it's origins back in the early seventies and even the newest boats aren't getting any younger. Since they will have to be replaced eventually, now is a good time to get things going.