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BLB-160 concept design |
BLB-160 Large Scale Technology Demonstrator |
Navatek’s Bow Lifting Body (BLB) technology was demonstrated at sea in the small-scale BLB-70 and BLB-65 demonstrators. Currently, Navatek is developing plans to construct the BLB-160, a 160-foot, 300-ton demonstrator that will provide decisive validation of the BLB hull form, as well as an important reference point for scaling the technology to much larger ships, including U.S. military and homeland security ships twice its size and eight times its displacement. Navatek's BLB technology reduces hull resistance by 25 percent and ship motions by 33 percent for the entire cruise-to-sprint speed profile. This effectively allows the replacement of a larger and more costly ship with a much smaller vessel while still achieving the same mission; or allows the construction of three ships for the capital cost of two ships.
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