A Pioneer in Modular Ship Design for the Navy

In 1975, Jack Abbott embarked on the development of a new concept within the U.S. Navy – “Open Systems Architecture” (OSA) – a system design approach that establishes key interface boundaries between the functional elements of the ship and the modular components within each element. These interfaces are designed to accommodate different commercial product designs and/or future military technologies that provide the same or improved functional capabilities.

Over the next 26 years, Jack Abbott continued to promote the concept of OSA or “modularity” and in 2001 the Navy announced it was launching a Future Surface Combatant Program aimed at “acquiring a family of next-generation surface combatants” incorporating the OSA he was so passionate about. As a direct response Jack Abbott and his wife Josephine built a company that was able to support the Navy’s goal of more flexible and modular ships. While Jack Abbott passed away in 2018, he leaves a strong engineering legacy behind in Abbott on Call. He was considered a leader in his field, and among his colleagues will always be affectionately known as “The Father of Modularity.”

To read more about Jack’s work and his legacy:

• Kelly, Douglas. “Jack W. Abbott”, Marine Technology, January 2019, pp. 10-13
• Garver, Shawna, and Jack Abbott. “EMBRACING CHANGE. Reducing cost and maximizing mission effectiveness with the flexible warship” Marine Technology, July 2014, pp. 22-28
• Hunt, Timothy. “NSWCCD Ship Design Group hosts modular ship design pioneer” WAVES, Nov./Dec. 2014, pp. 25.
• The Flexible Initiative by Jack Abbott | Lecture at The Naval Postgraduate School