The all-optical warship: design and integration considerations for a future electro-optical sensor suite

摘要

Electro-optical sensor systems are fairly commonplace on naval vessels. However, these sensor systems are usually implemented as stand-alone systems or are minimally integrated in shipboard combat management systems, and are mostly used as secondary sensors. Therefore, it is difficult to include these systems in generic command and control concepts; on board they remain an operator aid at best. To facilitate integration in the future, this paper proposes a model of a warship with only EO sensors as its primary sensor suite. The question of whether such a ship is sufficiently capable in a modern naval theater is addressed, as well as specific sensor design challenges and the command and control concepts needed in order to maximize the performance of the proposed vessel.