Moreover, those host nations with stable economies and which 
have reluctantly tolerated U.S. presence except for the bene- 
fits of military defense, may be induced to share the finan- 
cial burden of a MOBS in their territorial waters. In this 
vein, a report by the U.S. General Accounting Office has said 
that if Japan assumed additional yen-based costs related to 
U.S. forces in Japan, such as maintenance, ship repair, local 
salaries and utilities, U.S. spending could be reduced by at 
least $600 million annually. These costs are currently paid by 
the U.S. in yen. 
a Conclusion: Significant technical issues, although considered 
readily tractable within the normal RDT&E process, will need 
to be addressed in near-term budget programming in order to 
realize system development and acquisition of the MOBS concept 
in a timely and realistic manner. 
Observation: Two significant technical issues emerge for early 
consideration in design development of the MOBS. One involves 
the area of construction technology and management including 
fabrication and transfer of concrete elements for final plat- 
form assembly on site. The other relates to station keeping 
and operational positioning of the MOBS platform. As is 
normally expected, numerous design problems will emerge as 
development proceeds from feasibility analysis into prelimi- 
nary design of the system. 
This MOBS study along with the efforts put into the Ocean Station 
Project indicate technical and economic feasibility for the use of 
modularized ocean basing systems as an alternative to foreign basing 
assets. The analytical data and information utilized to come to this 
conclusion is presented in detail. 
