Cooling equipment also shapes a warship's thermal signature

How do modern warships cool equipment spaces?

Methods vary by ship and equipment, including refrigerants and seawater heat exchange, while designers also try to limit thermal detectability.

Different ship systems use refrigerants, seawater heat exchange, or more elaborate cooling arrangements. Cooling also affects detectability because the heat a ship releases contributes to its thermal signature. Greater use of seawater heat exchange is suggested tentatively here, while reducing the thermal return remains a design goal.