Capability-Based System-of-Systems Approach in Support of Complex Naval Ship Design

Naval ship design can be understood to be a networked System-ofSystems (SoS) multidisciplinary process whereby a decision on one aspect of the design may have simultaneous, multiple order effects on other aspects of the design. Modern naval ship design should therefore consider the systems of interest as components subsumed by a holistic environment encompassing assets and capabilities inorganic to a naval platform. This position paper propose a starting point approach intended to provide a more defined means of establishing and improving the ship design process as part of a multi-layered maritime domain warfare enterprise. Fundamental is the tenet that capability levels transcend several hierarchical echelons and exist across many functional domains. The proposed methodology provides a structured and cohesive approach for identifying and assessing ship capability portfolio with traceable and better known impacts on mission effectiveness, affordability and risk, in the early stages of ship design within the scope of a naval system-of-systems.