Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:23:31-2:27:10

Can modularity control procurement tinkering?

More ships can spread changes across a class, while modular systems can shift tinkering from the hull to replaceable payloads, though neither substitutes for adequate numbers and upkeep.

Absalon Class Support ShipsAir DefenceDanish NavyDefence ProcurementFascist ItalyIver Huitfeldt Class FrigatesJoint ProcurementModular Warship DesignNazi GermanyPolycratic GovernmentProcurement GovernanceSoviet UnionStanflex
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Question

How can navies stop changing designs during procurement, and can they build a platform intended for tinkering?

Short answer

Restrict changes, build enough ships to absorb evolution, and use modular payloads, while recognizing that joint governance and underfunding can defeat those safeguards.

Notes

Building more ships can spread evolutionary changes across later hulls, while firm governance can restrict alterations once construction begins. Joint programs may worsen the problem by giving several governments opportunities to change the same design. Denmark's StanFlex approach offers a partial solution by moving experimentation into replaceable mission modules rather than the hull itself. The small Iver Huitfeldt and Absalon fleets nevertheless became overstretched and suffered from underinvestment, showing that modularity cannot substitute for adequate numbers and upkeep. Committee-driven procurement is compared with polycratic government, where overlapping power centers make coherent decisions harder.