DEFENCE
Future Force Design Principles and the Next Generation RNZN Fleet Andy Watts considers the Future Force Design Principles 2023 through the lens of capability modularity. Does a modular approach present the most cost effective means for acquiring capability for the full spectrum of potential missions?
In an over three-decade career in the RNZN, Andrew Watts commanded HMNZ Ships Pukaki, Wellington, Resolution and Te Mana, and served as Director, Capability Development and Programme Director Network Enabled Capability, and Captain, Fleet Personnel & Training.
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This is the sixth instalment in a series of articles in which I have discussed options for the regeneration of naval capability in light of the reality that every ship in the current fleet (with the exception of HMNZS Aotearoa) reaches the end of its forecast life in the early to mid-2030s. This article re-examines the thinking embodied in those earlier articles in the light of the updated policy settings outlined in the Defence Policy and Strategic Statement 2023 and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Future Force Design Principles 2023. I hold strongly to the premise that I first developed in a paper published in the Professional Journal of the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2020 – that block obsolescence of the current fleet gives us an opportunity to set in place an affordable naval fleet that delivers on enduring government policy objectives, provided we consider and exploit the technological and doctrinal possibilities of modularity, open computing architectures, and autonomous systems. Fleet design along these lines is absolutely consistent with the Future Force Design Principles (FFDP). To recap, capability modularity involves the adoption of platforms that can be fitted with removable self-contained capability modules
tailored to specific types of operation. The number of platforms acquired can be determined by the number of operations of all types that a given fleet is expected to undertake at any one time, allowing for maintenance and respite. The number and type of capability modules acquired is dependent on the number and type of missions that the fleet is expected to undertake concurrently. Fixed Principles Systems Approach. The first of the three fixed future force design principles is that force design will be based on a systems approach: Ensuring that all components of capability are considered, that future systems are integrated, and that industry is engaged earlier in planning and design. The NZ Defence components of capability are people; research and development; infrastructure; concepts, doctrine and collective training; information technology infrastructure; and equipment, supplies and services. Each of these is addressed below: People. Prolonged separation from family and friends is often cited by naval people as a disincentive to remaining in the service. If supported by imaginative human Line of Defence
