Warships commonly serve for twenty or thirty years, during which threats and technology change substantially. Extra displacement and internal space allow new systems to be added without removing capabilities already aboard. That design margin prevents every upgrade from becoming a costly argument over what the ship must lose. Empty space is therefore a valuable asset rather than wasted capacity. Future-proofing is a form of infrastructure embedded within the ship itself.
Chapter · 1:18:23-1:20:39
Growth margin future-proofs long-lived warships
Extra displacement and internal space let a warship accept new systems during a service life that may span twenty or thirty years.