Modular Components to modify Ship Designs

[Ulsyus]

This was an interesting article on a naval vessel that is designed to use a standard modular component to enable it to be fitted out for specific mission-sets, or to augment its current capabilities in order to make it more effective in particular environments or roles.

What vessels have you designed to use specific mission-changable modules? Spinward Flow's Long Night Clipper modules come to mind.

 

[Condottiere]

Depends, on availability and ease of installation.

Working on Confederation Navy frigates.

 

[infojunky]

Looks a lot like the USN's Littoral combat ships in concept.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

Denmark has used this system successfully for decades.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StanFlex

 

[Condottiere]

The Littorals have a lot of foreseeable problems and issues.

If you have limited numbers, make them larger and general purpose.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

What vessels have you designed to use specific mission-changable modules?

Lots with MgT over at the Mongoose forum, e.g.:

Modular escorts:
https://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/threads/escorts.118688/post-899346

The modular, breakaway, drop tank jump fighter system:
https://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/threads/fighters-fighters-fighters.118672/post-899459

Viable modular fighter:
https://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/threads/modular-fighter.119159/post-901993

Modular Capital ships:
https://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/threads/cruisers.118684/post-899014

The completely RAW CT flexible freighter (Cockroach-class):
https://www.travellerrpg.com/index.php?threads/proposed-ship-mission-codes.42763/post-640285
Jump 3-6, cargo 0-1200 Dt, armed or not. No "modules" since CT.

 

[infojunky]

The Littorals have a lot of foreseeable problems and issues.

If you have limited numbers, make them larger and general purpose.

To be very clear the Littorals don't meet the core mission as seen by the USN. In that they operate somewhere between NavSpecWar and the Gator fleet, while the Line is often filled with relative even split between deepwater and aviation types. The other half is they skimped on the crew requirements... They aren't big enough to cover operations especially when equipment causalities happen. (Note equipment causalities are just a part of normal operations even without combat).

 

[Spinward Flow]

the Littorals don't meet the core mission as seen by the USN.

The LCS (Little Crappy Ships) sacrificed EVERYTHING upon the altar of wishful thinking.

• Crews are expensive, so outsource the crew (because: Outsource, Outsource, Outsource) to save money!
• Mission modules (and their supporting crew) can be quickly swapped out, anywhere in the world, at no cost!
• Speed replaces any (and every!) need for Defense!
• Nothing will ever (successfully) attack us, including the ocean!

The specs were rather obviously drawn up by people who didn't understand Why Things Were Done The Way They Were Done™ and wound up with the Pier Queens that were too expensive to build, too expensive to operate and too few in quantity to lose any if them to issues in readiness (which were plentiful BEFORE accounting for combat). The crews were overworked and required so much shore support that even the fantasy notion of Lean Crew was proven to be a failure in actual practice.

The trimaran hull was a brilliant innovation, but the execution in aluminum was a fatal flaw (that already DISSOLVED THE ENGINES of the lead ship in that class due to dumb specifications by the USN!).



The biggest failure by the USN with the Mission Module concept used by the LCS was the idea that they should build the ships first and then the mission modules would just "magically appear (and fit!)" within the space allocated for them later. That is very much a Cart vs Horse (Round 1! FIGHT!) situation.

Anyone who has ever seen military contracting happen before (or studied the history of military contracting) would know that unproven/untested concepts for Mission Modules would rapidly balloon in size, weight, manning and support requirements WELL IN EXCESS of their original design specifications. Why? Because of the 15th Kelly Johnson Rule at Skunkworks.

Never do business with the Navy!

The simple fact of the matter is, you need to build the ship around modules that already exist and which have been tested, finalized and approved for use. Doing it backwards (build the ship first and expect the fantasy spec modules to come in on time and on budget later) is just putting your head into the guillotine and expecting reality to not want to play with the rip cord.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Spinward Flow's Long Night Clipper modules come to mind.

I appreciate the vote of confidence!

Coming up with a set of rules amenable to modularity was really the first step in the process. Some of the later editions of Traveller have such considerations built into them as part of the design rules (because ISO container ships became the obvious go to example by then), but it was a bit of a challenge to backport those ideas and concepts into a form amenable to the CT starship design system. And as anyone who has been following my "design research" into this topic has seen, even in a purely commercial context, being able to "modularize" starship payloads has some rather unexpected benefits and side effects once you move beyond the bare minimum J1/1G performance baseline.

 

[Condottiere]

In Traveller terms, modules can be switched out in rounds to possibly days, at no additional cost beyond overhead and labour.

Optionally, the modules could be fixed in during production, since you assume the spacecraft is unlikely to need to swap them out.

Accommodations for payload specialists.

 

[coliver988]

the modular part also depends on the size: Mongoose did publish the Element Class Cruises which are modular, but require a lengthy stay at a Naval port to swap out the modules. Not something to be done lightly.

Oddly was just reading about new subs that have a modular payload system as well. But moving back to the SF Traveller universe, GURPS covered a LOT of modular ships in their modular cutter book, including traders and all that. And way, way back, someone posted on the image boards here an interesting concept of using those modular cutter modules, the Hector Modular Transporter. I have a copy but not sure about the rules; here's a portion of that deck plan showing the ship & modules.

 

[Condottiere]

They called them pods.

The difference appears to be that modularization is an internal phenomenon, whereas podularization is an external structure.

 

[Condottiere]

Endurance.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Modular Ship (Travellerwiki link)

There's quite a few modular ship designs linked through that article.

 

[mike wightman]

Bay weapons are modular, you can swap them out.

You can build a naval reserve merchant which carries cargo in empty bays and then arm them during hostilities.

 

[Spinward Flow]

A bit wasteful in terms of tonnage efficiency with respect to cargo hauling ... but definitely DOABLE ...



"Sir, the enemy has launched a load of speculative goods at us!"
"Contraband?"
"Not sure yet. Taking further sensor readings now."

 

[ranger2261]

the modular part also depends on the size: Mongoose did publish the Element Class Cruises which are modular, but require a lengthy stay at a Naval port to swap out the modules. Not something to be done lightly.

Oddly was just reading about new subs that have a modular payload system as well. But moving back to the SF Traveller universe, GURPS covered a LOT of modular ships in their modular cutter book, including traders and all that. And way, way back, someone posted on the image boards here an interesting concept of using those modular cutter modules, the Hector Modular Transporter. I have a copy but not sure about the rules; here's a portion of that deck plan showing the ship & modules.

View attachment 3741

mark lucas is the artist

 

[Condottiere]

It depends on construction techniques and policies.

In the Great War, passenger liners were designated and subsidized as potential armed merchant cruisers, which meant that hardpoints were integrated, and the Admiralty considered the viability of storing cannons onboard.

 

[Ulsyus]

A bit wasteful in terms of tonnage efficiency with respect to cargo hauling ... but definitely DOABLE ...

I imagine that'd be because of the duplication required with all the additional cargo bay door machinery for each of the bays that have had their cargo pods installed. That may depend on architecture though. A series of adjacent modular 50t cargo bays, installed instead of 50t weapons bays, could use a single bay door for one of units, so eliminating some of the additional machinery required if they all needed their own doors (if scattered about the hull). Plus, if there were magazines adjacent to the bays deeper within the hull, those could be replaced with additional cargo space.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

A T5 light modular transport I made a few years ago:

Using a 200 Dton streamlined hull, it has a J Drive C, a M Drive C, and a P Plant C giving performance of jump-1 and 1 g acceleration. There is fuel tankage of 65,34 Dton, enough for 4 weeks and 1 jump-1.
Controls consists of three control consoles, nine operating consoles, a m/2/bis computer, and a m/1/bis computer with Ergonomics 2.
There are five sensors: a communicator, an EMS, a visor, a neutrino sensor, and a stealth mask.
Crew accomodations consists of five staterooms with a Comfort of 5.
There are two weapons: a triple beam laser turret and a triple sandcaster turret.
Cargo capacity is 36 Dton. The ship requires a crew of four: a pilot, an astrogator, an engineer, and a flight crew. The ship costs MCr 66,26.


200 Dt base hull, with grapples for four 100 Dt subhulls and two 30 Dt pods (or smallcraft).
J-1 & M-1 at the full 660 Dt.
J-2 & M-2 at 330 Dt.
J-3 & M-3 at 220 Dt.

Oversized crew quarters, so can carry a few supernumeraries with ease.

TL-14  LYT-BA11                      Ergo 2   Comfort 5    Demand 0        Agility 1
       Light Modular Transport       Total:         0          66,3        Stability 2
SYSTEM                                    #       DTON         COST     
                                                                        
Hull                                              200                   
Config: Airframe                                               15       
Structure: Shell LiteMetal     AV=14 ( 210 vs Blast, 28 vs Pen, 2800 vs Heat/Beam, 280 vs Pres, 1400 vs Rad, 0 vs EMP )     
Coating:                       AV= 0 (  )     
Armour Std Anti-Blast                     1                          AV=7 ( 140 vs Blast, 14 vs Pen, 1400 vs H/B,    0 vs Rad, 0 vs EMP )     
Armour Std Anti-Rad                       1         4                AV=7 (  70 vs Blast, 14 vs Pen, 1400 vs H/B, 1400 vs Rad, 0 vs EMP )     
Landing Wheels Wilderness                                               
Wings Incr Perform                                                       
Fins Incr Agility                                                       
Floatation Water Landing                            2           2       
Lifters Installed                                               1       
                                                                        
Pods & Subhulls                                                         
Grapple Subhull 100 Dt                    4        12           6       
Grapple Pod 30 Dt                         2         2           1       
                                                                        
External Pods&Subhulls                  460                                  0  Pods & Subhulls
Total Drive Capacity                    660                                  0  Over/undertonnage: Agility ±0
                                                                        
Jump Field: Jump Bubble                                                    D=278 m, Flash 7
Mod J Drive C  J-1, 330 EP                1        10          10       
Mod M Drive C  1 G, 330 EP                1         2,5         5       
Mod P Plant C  P 1, 330 EP                1         5           5       
                                                                        
Fuel, Jump   J-1                                   59,4                 
Fuel, Power  4 weeks                                5,9                 
Purifier                                  1         1           0,5     
Scoops                                    1         1           0,1     
Water Intake                              1         1           0,1     
                                                                        
Console, Control Gen C+S=13               3         6           0,4        Brain: INT=4, EDU=2
Console, Operati Gen C+S=13               9        18           0,7        Brain: INT=4, EDU=2
Computer Gen m/2/bis                      1         2           3,8     
Computer Gen m/1/bis                      1         1           1,5     
                                                                        
Sensors                                                                 
Mod AR Surf Commu-10 +12A+7 PA(           1                     1,5       
Mod AR Surf EMS-14 +16A+7 PA(El           1                     1,5        ACS S=7
Gen SR Surf Visor-14 +14A-- P(P           1                     1          ACS S=5
Mod LR Surf Neutr-13 +15A-- P(G           1                     3,5        ACS S=9
Mod AR Surf Steal-14 -16A-- P(A           1                     1,5       
                                                                        
Crew:                             Comfort 5                             
Stateroom for 1                           5        10           0,5     
Freshers Shared                           2         1           1       
Common Areas                             14        14                   
Life Support:                                                           
Med Console                               1         0,5         0,5     
Life Support, Standard 200%               1         1           1          300 person-days
Escape Capsules 200%                      1         1           1           10 people
                                                                        
Standard Air Lock                         2                             
                                                                        
Cargo                                              36,2                 
Spare Space                                         2,5                 
                                                                        
Weapons                                                                 
Mod D T3 Beam-14 +18 H:3 Def+3            1         0,5         0,8     
Mod D T3 Sand-14 +16 H:3 Def+3            1         0,5         0,6     
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                       Crew    Consoles      Panels     
Crew                                 4               12          23     
Bridge Crew                          2    0                             
    Pilot                                 1           1           2     
    Astrogator                            1           1           0     
    Sensor Ops                            0           2           5     
Engineer                             1    0                             
    Engineer                              1           3           6     
Service Crew                         0    0                             
    Operations                            0           1           2     
Gunner                               0    0                             
    Gunner                                0           1           2     
Flight Crew                          1                3           6