Distributed Surface Force
Abstract
Large naval surface combatants are potentially held at risk by adversarial anti-access aerial denial (A2AD) weapon systems. To mitigate that risk we propose a distributed surface force concept, which relies on a cost-effective small surface combatant (SSC) capable of augmenting current forces in the 2025 2030 timeframe. We show that dispensing offensive and defensive power onto numerous smaller platforms has several advantages, including a more resilient force structure, greater number of ships, and fiscal cost savings. After employing the systems engineering process tailored to the problem to understand requirements and alternatives, a single mission SSC adapted to anti-surface warfare (ASUW) emerged as the solution. The SSC is conceptually employed in an armada composed of existing naval forces, which provide a protective shield against a multi-threat enemy force. The Armada is nominally composed of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Littoral Combat Ships and SSCs. The SSC'As capabilities include eight anti-ship cruise missiles with a range of 90 nautical miles, speed greater than 25 knots, and organic detection and classification range of at least 60 nautical miles.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA607535
Entities
People
- Andrew Moss
- Ceying Foo
- Chrisman Thompson
- Damien Wall
- John A. Goff
- John Buss
- Kyle Moyer
- Rico Magbanua
- Sean Jurgensen
- Wei Q. Toh
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School