THINKING WITHOUT BARRIERS

摘要

Navies have often been regarded as among the most conservative of customers, inherently wary of radical innovation in naval architecture and ship design. This stereotype is not without foundation or reason: first, the marine environment is harsh and unforgiving, and every major warship represents a significant capital investment designed to have a service lifetime spanning between two and three decades; second, navies have by and large pursued an incre-rnmental approach so as not to inadvertently cast away the hard-won lessons of operational experience accrued through both peacetime and conflict.