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Important trends and junctures in warship design

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Abstract

Concerns about risks associated with new conceptual designs of surface warships have led many decision-makers to rely on the parent-design approach. For example, the design of the Oliver Hazard Perry Class (FFG-7) became the standard of surface warship design for 71 subsequent vessels in three Navies, e.g. Australia, Spain and Taiwan, even though the FFG-7 was initially considered under-armed and vulnerable. This paper finds that following warship designs remain derivations primarily of limited parent designs and that generally warship design is now increasingly costly, yet mostly stagnant, and with fleet numbers in steady decline. By contrast, submarine-build programmes generally show regularly refreshed conceptual designs, new modularised build and construction, usually improving affordability and proliferation. Approaching a modern Synthetical Age, this paper submits that a reconceptualisation of the surface warship design space, shipyards and build techniques are arguably at a critical design juncture. As such a revolution in warship design, like the FFG-7 design was, is overdue. This paper provides insights into the ship designs that are necessary and possible from today's emerging technologies. Such revolutionary design could inject greater usability and affordability to naval surface fleets and build more political, economic and military affordability of ships and potential warfare losses. This new approach is called ‘Versatile modularisation’.

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Notes

  1. Currently (2019 Foreman was writing in 2017] there are 31 Global Combat Ship variants under order, 8 for UK (T26), 9 for RAN (Hunter Class) and 15 for the Royal Canadian Navy (Canadian Surface Combatant Class).

  2. Light Aircraft Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS).

  3. On which the Australian Navy SH-70 was based.

  4. Test and evaluation stages were: developmental, operational effectiveness and suitability for fleet employment, and production acceptance.

  5. Termed the ‘lead ship’ of the class.

  6. Conducted later in a ship of the Fiscal Year 1979 (FY79) design baseline when several significant changes were introduced including LAMPS-3.

  7. By, amongst others, the First Author during his time as SDSR strategic systems adviser to the British Naval Staff, 2009–2011.

  8. As provided by: US Naval Ships using unarmed auxiliary support vessels owned by the US Navy and operated in non-commissioned service by Military Sealift Command with a civilian crews; the UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary and; as suggested by Blake [59], a new Australian auxiliary service. Additionally, in Australia, the Defence Industry has been declared to be a ‘fundamental input to capability’.

  9. Attributed to Major General John Drewienkiewicz British Army (Rtd.) and the First Author, at an ARAG Quesitio, Jun 2006.

  10. Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, KCB, FRS, FRAeS (13 April 1892–5 December 1973), pioneer of British WWII Radars.

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Author notes

  1. Christopher J. Skinner

    Present address: , Sydney, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for International Security Studies and Sydney Cyber Security Network, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Simon Reay Atkinson

  2. Royal Australian Navy, Sydney, Australia

    Christopher J. Skinner

  3. Capability Systems Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Keith F. Joiner

  4. Department of Science and Technology, University of Suffolk, Suffolk, UK

    Nicholas H. M. Caldwell

  5. School of Engineering and IT, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia

    Ahmed Swidan

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Correspondence to Keith F. Joiner.

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Christopher J. Skinner: Retired from Royal Australian Navy, Sydney, Australia and also formerly affiliated as FFG Manager on exchange with United States Navy, Washington.

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Atkinson, S.R., Skinner, C.J., Joiner, K.F. et al. Important trends and junctures in warship design. Mar Syst Ocean Technol 15, 135–150 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40868-020-00076-2

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