{"id":68306,"date":"2024-11-05T13:17:25","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T13:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/11\/05\/french-uk-naval-chiefs-urge-dramatic-changes-in-warship-design\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:15:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:15:54","slug":"french-uk-naval-chiefs-urge-dramatic-changes-in-warship-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/11\/05\/french-uk-naval-chiefs-urge-dramatic-changes-in-warship-design\/","title":{"rendered":"French, UK naval chiefs urge dramatic changes in warship design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PARIS \u2014 The pace of change in maritime warfare requires Western navies to innovate faster and work more intimately with industrial partners to defeat evolving threats, the heads of the French and U.K. navies said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navies can no longer count on ships staying relevant over their 40-year lifespan, and weapon systems will change \u201cdramatically\u201d over such a period, French Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Nicolas Vaujour said at the Euronaval industry conference outside Paris on Monday. Weapon systems may need to be adapted as frequently as every year, requiring ship architecture that allows for systems to be plugged in and changed when needed, Vaujour said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to build adaptable by design,\u201d Vaujour said. \u201cYou must build the ship to be adaptable during 40 years, which is quite tricky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navies from the U.S., China and Russia, as well as France and the U.K., have been testing maritime weaponry ranging from swarming drones and lasers to hypersonic anti-ship missiles and rail guns in the past three years, while progress in artificial intelligence has allowed for increasingly autonomous unmanned vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\t