Ice phobic coating material, currently used by the U.S. Navy surface ships operating in arctic regions and north Atlantic, is environmentally unstable, prasitic, and sacrificial in nature. This paper presents a technical approach in the development of a different type of top coat/paint that is environmentally stable, maintenance free with built-in resistance to ice and frost accertion or formation by modifying current marine paint systems specified per military standards, mil p-24441 (sh). The paper defines coating material property requirements and material selection criteria. Coating system formulation and process are being discussed. The paper also addresses proof-of-concept tests and future research and development effort in optimizing the coating system from performance and cost stand point.
