Military ship design is an area of continuous implementation and research. The reason for the demand in the implementation and improvement of military ships is becoming more and more evident with war and national security being on the core national agenda of various governments worldwide.
Introduction
With the advent of war becoming more of a daily reality in many countries around the world, the need for design and improvement in military ships design is becoming more evident. The team comprising of what and how an eventual military ship prototype should look like and function consists of Naval Planners, Designers, Design analysts and Development and Research Engineers.
The interaction of these key personnel involves the Naval planner identifying and consolidating a need for the ship design in the form of a design brief; designers then taking the design brief to develop an effectively detailed instruction for manufacture; design analysts assisting the designers in assessing the core necessity and relevance of the design proposals; develop engineers who carry who carry out feasibility tests and adjustments to the design and research engineers who finalize any potential gaps in the understanding of materials, processes to techniques by carrying out experimental and theoretical work.
Aspects of Military Ship Design
The design of the ship consists of both an external aspect and an aspect that deals with internal components. Both internal and external aspects need to be specifically suited to the ship's core functionality. Externally, in terms of topside arrangement, focus should be placed on the following items
- Antenna location
- Combat system equipment
- Weapon firing arc arrangements
- Auxillary and main machinery space
- Command and control compartments
- Weapons compartments
- Flight deck and hanger layout arrangements
Internal engineering deals with components including the following
- Compartment arrangement
- System specification
- Comprehensive engineering analysis.
Need for Extensive Checks
Extensive and rigorous checks are performed before the ship is accepted into the service of the navy. The reason for this type of checking is beacuse a miniscule deviation of a single system from the initial specification of the intended ship in its entirety may lead to an exponential malfunction of other systems.
Extreme emphasis is also placed in advancements in technology when designing a military ship. Improved radar, missile and gun-based system technology is at the forefront of continuously changing offensive and defensive military tactics. The ability of a warship to continue in battle after suffering considerable damage is also an important design characteristic. Its ability herein would be measurable by the its post-damange stability, water-tight integrity as well as its ballistic and shock protection mechanisms.
The challenge in future military ship design lies in providing and improving all aspects of the warship platform and dynamic stability, fuel economy, seakeeping, speed and signature management.