In trying economic times, reducing costs becomes a primary design priority not only for commercial ships but also for naval combatants. A number of modern naval combatants depart from the traditional displacement hullform as they belong to the family of advanced marine vehicles and thus have increased costs. Hovercrafts represent such an advanced vessel, and although their history spans a width of more than half a century, they haven't caught on as a popular marine vehicle. They have never been produced in great numbers, and for this reason, economies of scale and ultimately affordability were never allowed for. This paper proposes an innovative method and design philosophy based on a flexible modularized design around which an affordable hovercraft can be built. Prefabricated modules are combined in an efficient and sophisticated manner and allow for a dramatic reduction of fabrication costs, providing a one-size-fits-all platform that can satisfy a great variety of missions and applications.
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