The composite intake Louvers represent one of the Navy's first attempts to counter the corrosion, weight and radar reflectiveness of of metal shipboard components. The composite louver was designed to be a drop in replacement for the metal louver presently used on the DDG-51 class ships. Design criteria for the louver consisted of radar absorbing cross section, grade A shock and vibration, and cost competitiveness with the metal louver. The use of pultrusion and other low cost composite processes were used to obtain the required performance without the high cost normally associated with high performance composite parts. The composite louver offers the Navy an 800
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