Digitalization will be an important aspect to reduce shipbuilding and repair costs, the US Navy said. In fact, the Navy will try to leverage this in order to build a larger fleet.
Digital modeling can also decrease time in design process by enabling engineers to test capabilities in few days rather than weeks or months. The US Navy will try to use digital design methods with the MQ-25 unmanned aerial tanker program, hoping the work will speed up the time-table. Moreover, digitalization can improve workforce training by providing a clear digital picture of what is being built.
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Leveraging digitization is already happening in US Navy shipbuilding. It helps with the design work, and can change how ships are built. The US Navy will try to benefit from this, as about 100 major repairs are performed on vessels each year. Otherwise, it will not be able to afford the planned fleet expansion.
In order to achieve this, James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, said that digitized design is part of the solution, because the technology helps manufacturers speed up production.
In light of this, the Navy is using data collected from the surface warfare community to make ship maintenance availabilities more efficient. Namely, instead of ship’s supply officers running down a check list of parts to be replaced when in port, the Navy is testing a process suggesting replacement parts to be considered based on historical data
