My latest project envisions the future naval combat ship. I opted for a trimaran hull design. There are pros and cons when using a trimaran design.

Though trimaran hulls are promising on paper, the lessons learned by the US Navy with the LCS ships of the USS Independence class, shows that the introduction of such innovative designs always comes with issues. I’ve tried to incorporate these lessons into my design.

One of the lessons learnt with the US Navy's USS Indepence class, is that these ships were only lightly armed and relied on mission modules that spent more than a decade in development. As a result, many ships in the LCS fleet have spent a half-decade or more armed with nothing more than Mk-110 57-millimeter rapid-fire guns, 30-millimeter cannons, and close-in weapons for defense. Another problem with the US Navy's LCS ships was that they were designed for speed, with both types capable of sprinting at more than 40 knots. However, it soon became clear that it would have been far better to prioritize a longer range.

In my concept, versatility, optimised stability, maximum payload/cargo carrying capacty, armament, endurance/range, flexibility using swappable "mission modules" and an open architecture design, are key elements.

Other concepts such as mission modules and minimal manning have also been incorporated into my design to demonstrate affordability, while enabling the ship to do more work, while requiring fewer sailors, reducing manpower costs.

This vessel can serve as a landing dock platform/amphibious assault ship, troop transport, helicopter-drone carrier and disaster response&relief platform while conducting ASW, mine clearing, maritime patrol & counter terrorism and -piracy, all in one.

What do you think?