Adapting Commercial Container Ships to Deliver Emergency Aid

Press Release July 19, 2012

Raytheon Company completes prelimary design of the Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform (TEMP) for US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Through the TEMP program, Raytheon is creating an innovative system of modular technologies – including air and sea cargo transport, cargo transfer and onboard support resources – that enable commercial container ships (cargo ships) to support humanitarian aid and other non-combat missions through the use of advanced technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Unlike naval ships, commercial vessels are not designed with the capabilities needed for aid missions. Through the TEMP system, alternative vessels such as container ships could be quickly readied to carry out an aid initiative with limited manpower. The system can be deployed in less than a day and is capable of maintaining mission operations for 30 days or more.

"As we've seen through numerous instances over the past several years, the magnitude of humanitarian crises often requires military support. At the same time, many of our country's naval assets are committed to other missions," said Joe Biondi, vice president of Advanced Technology for Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business.

"With the TEMP system, Raytheon hopes to provide the U.S. Navy with the ability to both address humanitarian aid requirements and keep core naval assets focused on primary warfighting and training missions."

The TEMP technologies include: