we appreciate the opportunity to meet with the Senate Economics References Committee. We are sorry we are not able to be there in person.

Researchers at the RAND Corporation have studied shipbuilding issues in the United States and the United Kingdom for more than 30 years. During the past decade, we have used our knowledge and expertise to help the Commonwealth of Australia understand the cost, benefits, and challenges of national shipbuilding strategies and decisions. We have provided lessons learned on the Collins-class submarine program, estimated the need for and the availability of technical personnel to design a submarine in Australia, and assisted the Future Frigate prime contractor decision by evaluating the costs versus capabilities of approximately 20 existing warship designs. These are just a few of our numerous projects that have supported the Australian Defence Force as it moves to enhance its capabilities.

Your invitation to today’s meeting specifically referred to the 2015 report titled Australia’s Naval Shipbuilding Industrial Enterprise: Preparing for the 21st Century.At the request of the Australian Department of Defence’s 2015 White Paper Enterprise Management team, in this report, we analysed the capability of the shipbuilding and ship repair industrial bases in Australia to meet the demands of then-current and future naval surface ship programs. Our research was aimed to help Australia’s defence policymakers in the following three ways: