Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:46:55-1:47:53

StanFlex needs a wider module market to pay off

Modular weapons only become compelling when enough navies share the standard to sustain a broad supply of useful modules.

Danish NavyLittoral Combat ShipModular DesignNaval ProcurementVertical Launch Systems
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Question

Should the Royal Navy use StanFlex modules instead of VLS, or combine the two?

Short answer

Its value depends on wider adoption, because a modular system needs enough users and modules to reach critical mass.

Notes

Denmark's StanFlex system offered a genuine modular alternative or complement to fixed VLS capacity, but it did not attract the international participation originally expected. The US attempt to use mission modules aboard the Littoral Combat Ship shows a different route to the same ambition. Modularity depends on a procurement ecosystem and a useful module market as well as sockets built into a hull.