Sunday, June 24, 2012

Size Does Matter Especially When it Comes to Naval War Vessels - Let's Talk

It used to be when we were talking battleships and aircraft carriers that size did matter, and the bigger the better. Today, we are trying to cut costs at the Pentagon, and many planners, especially the less than knowledgeable politicians believe that making a ship smaller will save money. That's not necessarily the case, especially when it comes to things like attack submarines for instance. Okay so let's talk about this shall we?
Recently, I read a really interesting paper; "Reinvigorating the Ship Design and Shipbuilding Process," by Bob Keane, Ship Design USA, Inc. published on May 16 2012 which stated:
"A strategic contradiction occurs when ship and submarine designs are built smaller as a means to lower costs, while installed capability is maximized for the same reason. The smaller space requires increased innovation to incorporate the same capabilities. If increased capability per hull is desired, a larger-not smaller-design must be incorporated to avoid the penalties associated with unnecessarily complex and congested designs."
Now then, Bob Keane is an upstanding guy, he knows his stuff, and he is an innovator in design when it comes to military shipbuilding. He's right of course, and if you disagree with this, you might wish to consider how a smaller iPad actually costs more to build than a larger one. This is because it takes different components, and you have to jam everything in together, and as you miniaturize things, they tend to cost more, not less. Consider if you will that a wristwatch will cost more than a clock radio on your desk, are you beginning to see the point here? This isn't just in rocket science folks - it's in shipbuilding also.
Nevertheless, I would submit to you that it matters in almost every technology, and when it comes to military acquisitions and weapons systems the same applies for the handheld radios used in the field, the aircraft we use to fight wars, along with the technologically advanced war vessels that roam the oceans. Not only does it cost more, but it also delays the process and delivery dates, often causing more friction, and a state of unpreparedness when we had expected those weapons systems to come into fruition to help with the fleet.
Generally when the military orders something, they really need it right now for current threats around the globe, even if they are being produced for projecting potential threats in the future for which they will actually need these units, the sooner they get them, the faster they can train the crew, become proficient, involve themselves in several war games and scenarios to be fully prepared. It really matters, and Bob is right, and I think we should listen. Especially our congressmen, and the executive branch who may not understand the military all that much at all. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

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