Decca Bridgemaster E News

Litton Marine Systems (LMS) won a contract to supply navigation radars for four new Hellenic Navy gunboats. The contract was awarded to Litton by Thomson-CSF Signaal, which is the primary combat systems contractor for the four new vessels being built at the Hellenic Shipyard Co., Skaramanga. The first of the new gunboats will be delivered to the Hellenic Navy starting in mid-2002. Litton will supply Decca BridgeMaster E naval radars with a special naval transceiver unit and 250-mm color ARPA display. The radars will be integrated by Signaal into the TACTICOS combat management system. The contract includes equipment, installation, commissioning, spares support and training for Hellenic Navy personnel.

Sperry Marine, a business unit of Northrop Grumman Corporation, today announced that its Decca BridgeMaster E 340 is the first flat-screen radar to be type approved to meet the international carriage requirements for automatic radar plotting aids (ARPA). The flat-screen radars provide significant savings in space and weight over traditional CRT displays. This is especially important for high-speed craft, in which size and weight are significant constraints. The flat-screen BridgeMaster E 340 display has a full 340-cm radar circle as required for ARPA type approval. The active-matrix high-resolution LCD provides wide viewing angles and a bright, clear picture in direct sunshine. The screen may be dimmed to avoid glare for nighttime operation.

The Nor-Shipping Exhibition concluded June 6, 2003. Following were some of the major announcements during the week in Oslo. Kongsberg won a contract for the control systems for four LNG tankers scheduled to be built in Japan. The ships will carry LNG from the Snohvit field to the U.S., Spain and France. Two of the ships are being built for Hoegh shipping lines at Mitsubishi Shipyards, while the other two are being built at the Mitsui and Kawasaki shipyards. Kelvin Hughes was awarded type approval for its ECDIS-based Track Control System. This is the first Approval of its type to be granted by LR and covers the integration of the company's ECDIS and Autopilot products into a system meeting the new IEC 62065 track control performance standard.

Northrop Grumman won a contract by Bath Iron Works to supply commercial-off-the-shelf surface search radars for new Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) Class destroyers. Northrop Grumman's Marine Systems business unit, headquartered here, will supply the Decca BridgeMaster E naval radars for the next 19 ships in the class, replacing the SPS-64 radars installed on the earlier DDG 51 Class ships. The first installation is scheduled to take place on USS Mason (DDG 87), which will be commissioned in 2002. In addition to the radars, the contract also includes application engineering, installation, technical support, commissioning and crew training. Award of the navigation radar contract complements other Marine Systems navigation equipment aboard the DDG 51 Class ships.

Litton Marine Systems (LMS) received type approval for its Decca BridgeMaster E 180 and 250 flat-screen marine radars. The type approval, granted by the U.K. Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, signifies that the flat-screen radars meet the stringent International Electrotechnical Commission specifications for performance and environmental requirements. The approval covers the 15-in. BridgeMaster E 180 and 18- and 20-in. BridgeMaster E 250 models, and includes as an option the company's Vision technology for automatic clutter suppression. The new series of flat-screen radars provide significant savings in space and weight over traditional CRT displays. This is especially important for high-speed craft, in which size and weight are significant constraints.

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Sperry Marine business unit announced that its Decca BridgeMaster E marine radars have been type accepted by QinetiQ for display of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data in accordance with the technical provisions of the International Maritime Organization Circular SN/Circ. 217. "The BridgeMaster E is one of the first marine radars to be type accepted for display of AIS data," said John Robinson, who heads Sperry Marine's radar business group. "The ability to display AIS data on the radar screen significantly enhances situational awareness for the navigator by providing real-time information on target ships’ position movements and identity," said Robinson.

Raytheon Marine is broadening its product offering to fulfill the new requirements due to the modification of international regulations. Therefore the company is now offering a SOLAS Class A ship borne AIS Transponder through its worldwide Reseller Network. The new RM 808 AIS, which is Wheelmark Type Approved by BSH, Germany, is produced exclusively by Nauticast Schiffsnavigationssysteme AG, Austria. Nauticast supplies the RM 808 AIS based on its own X-Pack DS design, together with extended warranty and high-end accessories for ease of installation. Marine Data Systems (MDS) has become the first to be granted product approval by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S., for its AIMS MIV Automatic Identification System (AIS).