Low-Drag, 100-Knot Ship Concept Study

The objective of the proposed work is to develop an innovative, low-drag, low-motion, 10,000 ton ship concept capable of carrying troops and equipment 10,000 miles at 100 knots without refueling. These are the idealized unofficial design requirements, for a fast sealift ship for rapid deployment of military forces, which were received in a personal communication in 1995 from a researcher in the field. To satisfy these design requirements, order-of-magnitude improvements in candidates were conceived and proposed, including an initial analysis to show potential. The proposed work includes conception of additional ship types, analysis of all potential candidates, and selection of the most-promising ship type. The most-promising ship concept will be analytically explored in sufficient depth to determine technical feasibility; if technically feasible, a plan will be proposed for further research and development.