Northrop Grumman to Supply Navigation Systems for Newbuilds

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected to supply electronic navigation systems for six new high-speed vessels under construction at Austal Shipyards in Henderson, Western Australia. The equipment is being supplied by Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit through contracts awarded by Austal to Electrotech Australia, which is supplying and installing the complete navigation and communication package for the new vessels. The new ships include four high-speed wave-piercing catamaran ferries, two for the Sultanate of Oman and two for IDO Turkey, and two Armidale-Class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The two 65-meter multi-purpose ferries for Oman, with a service speed of 50 knots, will be used to launch a new tourism service on the country’s northern coastline. They are being fitted with Sperry Marine radars, as well as an autopilot, gyrocompass, speed log, echosounder, differential global positioning system (DGPS) and voyage data recorder (VDR). The ships for IDO Turkey are two 88-meter 36-knot ferries with a capacity for 1,200 passengers and 225 cars. They will operate between Istanbul and Bursa and will be fitted with radars and an autopilot, fiber-optic gyrocompass, speed log, echosounder, VDR, DGPS, and electronic chart display and information system. The two new 57-meter patrol boats are the 13th and 14th in the RAN Armidale Class. They are being fitted with Sperry Marine radars with navalized features, as well as steering controls, autopilot, DGPS, and heading and speed sensors. Electrotech has supplied similar navigation and communications systems for each of the previous 12 vessels in the class.