Ken
Gone but not forgotten
I was watching a History Channel show on stealth technology when the word "corvette" caught my attention. It seems the new Visby-class corvettes are using carbon-fiber composites instead of steel in a lot of places on the ship during its construction.
Turns out it's old news...
From High Performance Composites:
Fighting ships augment combat readiness with advanced composites - September 2003
Navies adopt composite materials for stealth and speed.
By: Sara Black
Stealth, speed and light weight have become as important as sophisticated weaponry in the new age of warfare. This is no less true for the world's navies as for land-based forces. Traditional naval aircraft carriers, battleships and destroyers are awe-inspiring from the standpoint of sheer size and firepower. Yet, these deepwater metallic behemoths are vulnerable to mines, torpedoes and sea-skimming missiles. Naval forces are increasingly turning to faster and more maneuverable craft for special intercept operations and strategic attacks in near-shore waters less than 20 ft deep.
Composite materials have long been recognized by naval designers for their non-magnetic properties, which led to development of mine sweeper vessels that can safely find and destroy modern metal-sensing mines. All-composite minehunters have plied the seas since early 1972, when the British warship H.M.S. Wilton was launched. In addition, natural damping and insulating properties give a composite vessel a less distinct acoustic signature, making it more difficult to detect with sonar. In line with stealth aircraft design, naval architects recognize that hulls and superstructures made with large, flat panels can reflect and redirect radar signals. And, a lightweight composite hull teamed with high-horsepower engines and waterjet propulsion systems mean high speeds, low displacement and shallow draft.
European navies have embraced composite ship technology wholeheartedly, mainly because of the presence of sea mines placed during past conflicts. Dozens of large composite craft have been fabricated in Norway, Sweden and the U.K. for a diverse customer group. Because U.S. waters have never been mined, the U.S. Navy has been slower to accept all-composite construction, although radomes, enclosed masts and other components have been employed. But, major mine damage to vessels during the Desert Storm conflict in the Persian Gulf has accelerated U.S. development of naval composites. Twelve composite warships in the Osprey coastal minehunter (MHC) class were built with fiberglass/polyester by U.S. shipyards during the 1990s.
Today, the U.S. Navy is sponsoring the Focused Mission Vessel Study, hoping that it will result in a new generation of high-speed, stealthy and, possibly, all-composite ships. Eric Greene, a naval composites expert who recently produced the reference work Marine Composites, sets that hope in historical context. "Going from wood to steel as the hull material of choice during the 19th century was a profound change for the Navy," he says. "For the 21st century, composite materials promise to be the next quantum leap for warship construction."
Turns out it's old news...
From High Performance Composites:
Fighting ships augment combat readiness with advanced composites - September 2003
Navies adopt composite materials for stealth and speed.
By: Sara Black
Stealth, speed and light weight have become as important as sophisticated weaponry in the new age of warfare. This is no less true for the world's navies as for land-based forces. Traditional naval aircraft carriers, battleships and destroyers are awe-inspiring from the standpoint of sheer size and firepower. Yet, these deepwater metallic behemoths are vulnerable to mines, torpedoes and sea-skimming missiles. Naval forces are increasingly turning to faster and more maneuverable craft for special intercept operations and strategic attacks in near-shore waters less than 20 ft deep.
Two Visby-class corvettes have been built to date by the Kockums Karlskrona shipyard in Sweden. The ships are all carbon composite construction. Source: Kockums.
Composite materials have long been recognized by naval designers for their non-magnetic properties, which led to development of mine sweeper vessels that can safely find and destroy modern metal-sensing mines. All-composite minehunters have plied the seas since early 1972, when the British warship H.M.S. Wilton was launched. In addition, natural damping and insulating properties give a composite vessel a less distinct acoustic signature, making it more difficult to detect with sonar. In line with stealth aircraft design, naval architects recognize that hulls and superstructures made with large, flat panels can reflect and redirect radar signals. And, a lightweight composite hull teamed with high-horsepower engines and waterjet propulsion systems mean high speeds, low displacement and shallow draft.
European navies have embraced composite ship technology wholeheartedly, mainly because of the presence of sea mines placed during past conflicts. Dozens of large composite craft have been fabricated in Norway, Sweden and the U.K. for a diverse customer group. Because U.S. waters have never been mined, the U.S. Navy has been slower to accept all-composite construction, although radomes, enclosed masts and other components have been employed. But, major mine damage to vessels during the Desert Storm conflict in the Persian Gulf has accelerated U.S. development of naval composites. Twelve composite warships in the Osprey coastal minehunter (MHC) class were built with fiberglass/polyester by U.S. shipyards during the 1990s.
Today, the U.S. Navy is sponsoring the Focused Mission Vessel Study, hoping that it will result in a new generation of high-speed, stealthy and, possibly, all-composite ships. Eric Greene, a naval composites expert who recently produced the reference work Marine Composites, sets that hope in historical context. "Going from wood to steel as the hull material of choice during the 19th century was a profound change for the Navy," he says. "For the 21st century, composite materials promise to be the next quantum leap for warship construction."
