Abstract
Naval combatants remain on active service for decades. This necessitates their functional enhancement in order to keep pace with the latest advances in technological developments and changes in future military threats. This paper introduces the activity of technology insertion by providing an overview of the past, current, and future upgrades of the DDG-51 class destroyer's combat system. Within technology insertion, there is the requirement for potential upgrade options to be analysed from a functional perspective. The upgrade matrix, based on the quality function deployment method, is proposed as a tool for such a task. This matrix functionally decomposes a platform's combat roles, principal systems and sensor-to-shooter loop. These functions are rated against capability gaps and user importance weightings. A set of options can then be assessed for their contribution to fulfilling the user's future needs. The result is the identification of the most appropriate upgrade options. The use of the upgrade matrix is demonstrated through an illustrative example which is conceptually based on the anti-air warfare elements of the Type 45 destroyer's combat system.
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Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M: Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment
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