Date of Award

3-2002

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

William A. Cunningham, PhD

Abstract

The 43rd Airlift Wing at Pope AFB, NC, possesses 33 E-model C-130 aircraft. The airplanes range in age from 30-36 years old. Current plans call for replacing Pope's aging fleet of tactical airlifters with new C-130J model planes in FY11. There are two replacement alternatives proposed in this research. The first is to calls for replacing the C-130Es with C-130Js now. The second option is upgrade the C-130Es to C-130Xs and replace them in 10 years with the C-130J. The results indicate that the least cost solution is to upgrade Pope's fleet of C-130Es to C-130Xs now. However, after conducting sensitivity analyses on the input parameters, the research shows the replace now option becomes the least cost solution when any one of the following occur: the C-130J O&S costs decrease by 15 percent below the estimated values, the service life of the C-130X drops below 6 years, or the C-130J acquisition costs decrease by 35 percent. In addition, this research looks at the budgetary consequences of each option.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GAQ-ENS-02-01

DTIC Accession Number

ADA401811

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