NAVAL SURFACE COMBATANT SHIP DESIGNER'S AID

THE NAVAL SURFACE COMBATANT SHIP DESIGN PROCESS CAN BE GREATLY ENHANCED BY A COMPUTERIZED, KNOWLEDGE-BASED DESIGNER'S AID. NAVAL SURFACE SHIP DESIGN IS A TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGE TO "MAXIMIZE ORDNANCE ON TARGET" REQUIRING THE USE OF RAPIDLY ADVANCING TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS FOR SURVEILLANCE, DETECTION, COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION PROCESSING, ORDNANCE DELIVERY, POWER, AMONG OTHERS. A COMPUTERIZED, KNOWLEDGE-BASED AID IS PROPOSED TO HELP THE SHIP DESIGNER INCORPORATE THE MOST APPROPRIATE HULLS, MACHINERY, AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (HM&E) AND COMBAT SYSTEMS YIELDING THE CORRECT PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES TO MEET TOP-LEVEL SHIP, MISSION, AND OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED AID WILL SELECT HM&E AND COMBAT SYSTEMS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR DESIGNER INPUT SHIP, MISSION, AND OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. ONCE THE HM&E AND COMBAT SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AND POSSIBLY MODIFIED BY THE DESIGNER THE COMPUTER SYSTEM WILL REPORT THE RESULTING CHARACTERISTIC PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES. BASED ON THESE PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED AID WILL REPORT TOTAL SHIP MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS (MOE) AND COMPARE THEM TO CURRENT SHIPS WITH SIMILAR MISSION PROFILES. A KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED WITH AN INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT REPORTS ON SYSTEMS, PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES, AND MOE AS WELL AS ALLOWING SHIP DESIGNERS TO UPGRADE AND DISTRIBUTE THE KNOWLEDGE-BASE.