EXPLORA TOR Y DEVELOPMENT: SHIPS, SUBMARINES, AND BOATS

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe Navy's Exploratory Development Program for Ships, Submarines and Boats it at the cutting edge of the new technologies needed to create advanced types of naval vehicles. It also includes efforts to overcome deficiencies and to upgrade the capabilities of existing ships and craft. Better ships do not come easily!This paper describes some of the efforts now underway to develop the Navy's ships of the future by first developing and demonstrating the technology needed to upgrade each characteristic vital to unproved naval vehicles.We need ships that are: more seaworthy – yet smaller; lighter – but stronger; faster – though using less fuel; more reliable – but less costly! In order to achieve dozens of such contradictory improvements, tins Exploratory Development Program looks for answers in the fields of: advanced vehicle concepts, fluid dynamics, structures, naval vehicle control, electrical energy conversion, main propulsion machinery, auxiliary shipboard machinery, personnel protection, damage control, and ship silencing. Specific examples of the work in these fields are provided together with some fed for how this interesting program operates.