OSI to Deliver IBNS for the US Navy LCS Program
OSI Maritime Systems said it has signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to provide its Integrated Bridge and Navigation System (IBNS) for the U.S. Navy Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. “We are pleased to have signed this very important contract with Lockheed Martin. Over the years, OSI has built a strong business relationship with Lockheed Martin through the successful delivery of a number of projects for customers around the world,” said, Ken Kirkpatrick, OSI President and CEO. “The U.S. The system is designed for warships and conforms to American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Class Rules for Navigational Integrated Bridge System (NIBS).
Keeping a Watchful Eye
In 2014, Forbes Associate Director for Maritime Services at Control Risks stated that maritime risks are on the rise. Mariners and ship owner/operators experienced a 26% spike in maritime piracy and armed robbery since 2014 and the North Sea Oil Industry admitted that it had been targeted and thwarted cyber attacks, attacks that if successful could have caused untold financial and logistical damage. • Within the last decade, plans to attack a cruise ship in a major U.S. port were revealed. Maritime surveillance systems play a key role monitoring sea lanes and ports while supporting worldwide maritime safety and security. The ability to operate effectively and securely in any environment (air, land or sea) depends on an acute awareness and understanding of the surrounding elements.
AN/SPY-1 SSSA Completes Critical Design Review
The Critical Design Review (CDR) stage for AN/SPY-1 radar Solid-State Switch Assembly (SSSA)'s high voltage modulator completed Aug. 26, confirming that the design is expected to meet performance requirements. A CDR confirms the system is on track to achieve affordability and cost goals, and establishes the system's initial product baseline. The successful close-out of the CDR milestone means that the SSSA has achieved a high level of maturity, and is ready to start complete hardware design and system testing. SSSA is intended to replace the current vacuum tube modulator switches in the AN/SPY-1 radar transmitter with functionally similar, highly reliable solid-state switches. The AN/SPY-1 radar constitutes the primary air and surface search radar for the AEGIS Weapons System.
Sharpeye Keeps Watch on Chesapeake Bay
Kelvin Hughes, a global supplier of surveillance and navigation systems, announced that it has recently supplied two SharpEye Solid State X Band surveillance radars to the Maryland Natural Resources Police (MPRP), to provide additional coverage around protected oyster beds. The SharpEye radars are key sensors in the MNRP Maritime Law Enforcement Information Network (MLEIN), whose mission is to secure the 3,100 miles of Maryland coastline. The system was launched in the autumn of 2013, with the first detection of illegal activity taking place shortly after.
First DDG Modernization Warship Departs on Deployment
The Aegis guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) departed Naval Base San Diego Nov. 29, for an independent seven-month deployment to the 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). The first ship to complete the DDG modernization (DDGMOD) midlife hull, mechanical, and electrical upgrade, John Paul Jones is a hallmark of both the platform and a successful maintenance program. The DDGMOD upgrade consisted of extensive changes through every compartment of the ship. Beginning in Spring 2010…
Damage Assessment, USS Port Royal
The Navy has completed a majority of its damage assessment of USS Port Royal (CG 73), which ran aground a half-mile off Honolulu Airport's Reef Runway Feb. The propeller blades, sonar dome and underwater hull were among items damaged on the 567 ft guided-missile cruiser. Critical systems -- such as the vertical launch cell hatches and other weapons systems, the AEGIS radar system, ballistic missile defense capability, surface-search radar, anchors, antennae and gas-turbine engines -- were not damaged.
SPS Completes Initial Developmental Testing
The Navy took another step to increase ships' capabilities against asymmetric surface threats, as the Shipboard Protection System (SPS) completed its first pierside and underway test events aboard the USS Benfold (DDG 65) on Feb. 26. The SPS provides a ship’s commander with organic tools to rapidly assess emerging surface threats and defend against terrorist attacks like the one that severely damaged the USS Cole in 2000. Ultimately, most U.S. naval surface vessels will have an SPS to provide integrated anti-terrorism/force protection capabilities while operating in littoral waters including foreign or domestic ports, restricted waterways and coastal areas, where terrorists can pose a significant threat to naval vessels.
Aloha Kittiwake -- USCG Welcomes Bollinger-Built Patrol Boats
The newest Coast Guard vessel in Hawaii, the 87-ft. (26.5 m) patrol boat Kittiwake, was designed to venture out on the sea when the strength of other ships has failed, when the mystery of that ship and crew's limits has been solved. To the men and women of the 14th Coast Guard District and the hundreds of sailors the new vessel will rescue in the future, the arrival of the Kittiwake is a beautiful sight. Kittiwake was officially commissioned on June 30 during a ceremony held at Coast Guard Search and Rescue Detachment Kauai in Nawiliwili Harbor. Bollinger Shipyards built the $3.5 million Marine Protector Class Coastal Patrol Boat in Lockport, La. to replace the Coast Guard Cutter Point Evans, a Vietnam War-era, 82-ft.
