Tim Peacock Maritime Business Development Manager, Lockheed Martin
Scalable Situational Awareness in a challenging maritime environment
Today, the large majority of the world’s navies face a difficult decision between building a small number of expensive but highly capable vessels that are able to operate across the breadth of maritime effect, or a larger number of less capable ships which are able to deliver across the majority of likely tasking, all in the context of an increasingly complex operating environment and a rapidly evolving threat from both state and non‐state actors. It is this dilemma between mass or true war fighting capability which keeps the Admirals awake at night (amongst other things!). If only you could have both.
One potential solution is both innovative and simple. Rather than building a fully fitted out hull laden with a large number of high technology closed systems ‐ instead plan, develop, build or retro‐fit a class of ships with a truly open architecture system. This approach will drive down initial build or upgrade costs by maximising competition for individual equipment, including through increased use of commercially available technology, and would also significantly reduce the through life, upgrade and obsolescence management costs downstream. In addition, a move away from traditional closed equipment procurement cycles would provide an opportunity to widen the potential shipbuilding base, further reducing cost through increased competition.
1970s County Class Destroyer
A ship designed with an open architecture system would demonstrate cost effectiveness and versatility matched to the individual country’s requirements, with tasking ranging from maritime security and constabulary operations to core warfighting, depending on the evolving threat and national ambition. This approach also supports the customer’s increasing requirement for adaptable space so that additional equipment can be quickly fitted and integrated, either through direct purchase or the removal and addition of specific mission modules. For example, as tensions increase, so a maritime security focused platform could rapidly switch into an advanced combat vessel through the removal of boats and boarding capability, to be replaced by additional unmanned systems, soft and hard kill defences or offensive missiles. It is this configurable space dependent on threat and tasking that is the true measure of cost effectiveness and flexibility across the range of maritime operations.
An open architecture approach would also provide a clear and cost effective path for upgrades and obsolescence management across the vessel; it would provide built in scalable capability improvements and future proofing through a simply achieved technology road map, without the need for costly and intrusive rebuilds during a major refit.
Society of Maritime Industries Handbook & Members’ Directory 2017
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