Britain’s Ministry of Defense laid down a challenge and their youngest and most intelligent engineers and scientists answered that challenge in a big way. These great minds were asked to come up with what they envisioned as the future of the battleship.
Their response included some of the most advanced technology the world has to offer. Some ideas included electromagnetic rail gun with the range of cruise missiles, high-speed torpedoes that travel close to 350 mph, multiple drones, a quad copter that has the capability to fire lasers and a holographic control room, to name a few.
A team was brought together made up of members of the Ministry of Defense, the Royal Navy and several engineers and scientists from defense contractors to pool their ideas on the subject. This effort has come to be known as “Dreadnought 2050” paying homage to the 527-foot, 20,000 ton battleship the HMS Dreadnought that was launched back in 1906. According to a press release, this was done because at the time the HMS Dreadnought “represented such an advance that all other major warships were rendered obsolete”.
The main objective is to balance the technologically advanced improvements against budget limitations. Starpoint, an organization of the Royal Navy tasked with overseeing the project stated “the mission is to tackle parallel challenges of providing advanced technology set against the backdrop of funding constraints”.
The current design is quite impressive with its extremely advanced technology and weaponry. The Dreadnought 2050 is a tri-hull design made of an ultra-strong, see-through acrylic unlike the typical steel ship. It has a quad copter tethered to the ship, instead of the more traditional mast, that has carbon nanotubes used to transport power for sensors and a laser gun used for defense to eliminate any posing threats. It is also armed with weaponry used to cover great distances.
The bow is equip with an electromagnetic rail gun that can take down an enemy hundreds of miles away. The outrigger hulls are armed with two tubes that contain “supercavitating” torpedoes that travel so fast they actually vaporize the water around them creating an air pocket that enables them to “fly” through the water. There is also a flight deck in the aft section of the ship that can serve as a launching pad for the drones that are made aboard the ship using 3D printing technology and a moon pool to launch amphibious troops when necessary.
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