ABSTRACT
The peacetime life-cycle costs of warships are dominated by the amortization of the capital costs and the annual cost of personnel and fuel. For a number of years, the mission effectiveness of steel-hulled warships has been influenced by the relationship of ship size to: combat capability, survivability, sustainability, speed and endurance, and seakeeping. The subsequent requirements for improving the underway sustainability of warships have had a significant effect on the design of ships since World War II, in terms of the hull volume required to provide the accessibility necessary for onboard maintenance and the space and equipment required for personnel, shops, store rooms, and underway replenishment. In future warship design, the US Navy will have to continue to address the same fundamental relationships that have influenced the design of warships. Future technology may allow to minimize the effect of sustainability on ship size, as our ability to develop more reliable, repairable, and automated ship systems improves.
