A Life Cycle Cost Analysis of the Proposed Replacement of Pope Air Force Base's C-130E Fleet Using a Fleet Replacement Model

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.Air Force Inst of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH School of Engineering and Management is the author of 'A Life Cycle Cost Analysis of the Proposed Replacement of Pope Air Force Base's C-130E Fleet Using a Fleet Replacement Model' with ISBN 9781423510604 and ISBN 1423510607.