Sperry Marine, USA, has been awarded contracts to upgrade the navigation systems on three US Navy Cyclone-class patrol craft.
The bridge upgrade programme for the patrol craft is being performed under two cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts from the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station, Philadelphia, and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic.
Northrop Grumman will equip each of the vessels with an integrated bridge system running under the fleet-standard Voyage Management System (VMS) software. The three-node system is an upgrade to the currently installed Sperry Marine system on the patrol craft. The installations will include the naval electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS-N), an adaptive autopilot and gyrocompass. Northrop Grumman will also provide installation support services.
"The patrol craft bridge upgrades will give the 1990s-era patrol craft the same navigation technology that is standardised across the rest of the US Navy fleet," said J Nolasco DaCunha, Vice President of Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine.
"They will provide improved situational awareness and enhanced navigation safety for the ships' watchstanders, giving them a real-time, constantly updated picture of the ship's position and movement relative to navigation aids and hazards on a large high-resolution screen."
Sperry Marine's VMS is the standard electronic navigation software for US Navy surface ships and submarines. It is the only system that has been certified to meet the Chief of Naval Operations requirements for converting the fleet from hand plotting on paper nautical charts to automated navigation and piloting on computerized chart displays.
The Cyclone-class patrol craft were originally built in the 1990s to support Navy SEALS and other special operation forces. They are now being modernised to support new operational requirements for littoral warfare, coastal gunfire support and mobile training programmes.
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