Report on SRM industrial base, 2011

[renclod]

http://www.acq.osd.mil/mibp/docs/Final_Redacted_SRM_Sustainment_Plan_6-6-11.pdf

"(6) The most efficient business model for the large-SRM industry is competition with continued rationalization.

The upfront requalification and facilitization costs associated with natural monopoly or a government-owned/contractor-operated model are prohibitive."

"The DoD also will continue efforts to coordinate investment decisions with NASA to ensure that SRM industrial base sustainment is considered as part of all relevant programmatic decisions and will continue the SRM Inter-Agency Task Force activities: monitoring the SRM industrial base, identifying capability issues at the prime- and subtier- supplier levels, and jointly addressing mitigation options."

[Jim]

The most relevant sentence in the document:

"Large SRMs (40- to 92-inch diameter) propel all of DoD’s strategic
missiles."

Hence SDLV segmented SRM's are not part of this issue.

[renclod]

...Hence SDLV segmented SRM's are not part of this issue.

However segmented SRM's are very much part of the industrial base, hence part of this issue - which is a continuation of the issue as reported in 2009.

In my understanding:

1/ "competition with continued rationalization" = gov't intervention is beneficial

2/ "natural monopoly" = if RSRM(V) is terminated, the industrial base will finally shrink from the current 2 (two) to just 1 (one) large manufacturer - possibly with the government taking over some must-have facilities.

If you (or anyone) think this understanding is wrong, please correct.

[Jim]

2/ "natural monopoly" = if RSRM(V) is terminated, the industrial base will finally shrink from the current 2 (two) to just 1 (one) large manufacturer - possibly with the government taking over some must-have facilities.

If you (or anyone) think this is wrong, please correct.

ATK will enough work without RSRM(V) to maintain the DOD needs (it will just be missing its sugar daddy) . The other manufacturer is happy at current levels.

[Calphor]

2/ "natural monopoly" = if RSRM(V) is terminated, the industrial base will finally shrink from the current 2 (two) to just 1 (one) large manufacturer - possibly with the government taking over some must-have facilities.

If you (or anyone) think this is wrong, please correct.

ATK will enough work without RSRM(V) to maintain the DOD needs (it will just be missing its sugar daddy) . The other manufacturer is happy at current levels.

Not with current DoD requirements. With Minuteman completed and Trident D5 in sustainment mode, the loss of RSRM(V) would leave the large SRM (40 - 92 in diameter) business in a defacto monopoly situation, with only Navy facilities at ATK operable.

[Prober]

2/ "natural monopoly" = if RSRM(V) is terminated, the industrial base will finally shrink from the current 2 (two) to just 1 (one) large manufacturer - possibly with the government taking over some must-have facilities.

If you (or anyone) think this is wrong, please correct.

ATK will enough work without RSRM(V) to maintain the DOD needs (it will just be missing its sugar daddy) . The other manufacturer is happy at current levels.

The new just passed Russian Missile treaty provides for usa new generation.   I heard, read somewhere that dev. funds are in the system for this new Missile.