
The naval vessel’s survivability is a complicated subject affecting the whole life cycle of the vessel, and should be considered from the initial design phase of every war ship. The naval vessels are designed to operate in a man-made hostile environment, and therefore the survivability is a vital feature required from them. Survivability denotes the ability of a ship and its on-board systems to remain functional and continue designated mission in a man-made hostile environment. Present day surface warship designs tend to aim for a balanced combination of all three areas. Main Battle Tanks minimise vulnerability through the use of heavy armours. Some platform types, such as submarines and airplanes, minimise their susceptibility and may, to some extent, compromise in the other areas. There is no clear prioritisation of the three elements this will depend on the characteristics and role of the platform. Recent studies have also introduced the concept of "Force Survivability" which relates to the ability of a force rather than an individual platform to remain "mission capable". The European Survivability Workshop introduced the concept of "Mission Survivability" whilst retaining the three core areas above, either pertaining to the "survivability" of a platform through a complete mission, or the "survivability" of the mission itself (i.e. Recoverability - longer-term post-hit effects, damage control, and firefighting, capability restoration, or (in extremis) escape and evacuation.



