Think Defence has brought to my attention, a paper that addresses a way to consider the various possible trade-offs that might be applied to the design of patrol ships. Specifically they look at a ship very similar in concept to the Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC). This straw-man ship is the latest version of BMT Defence Services’ “Venator” concept. It’s dimensions are on the large side but within the range previously used to describe the OPC.

• Waterline Length: 107 m (351 ft)
• Beam:                    15 m (49.2 ft)
• Draft:                     4.3 m (14.1 ft)
• Displacement: 3,200 tons (approx.)

You can read the paper here (pdf). The ThinkDefence’s post is here. Their discussion is always lively. There is a claim there, quoted from the Royal Navy’s web site, that the current Royal Navy OPVs are underway at least 275 days a year. Perhaps we need to find out how they are doing that.

Using this sort of approach to weigh alternatives, may not always result in superior ships, but it certainly requires an explicit statement of assumptions, and in an environment where decisions are subject to second guessing and must be explained, it documents the decision process.