Curtiss-Wright to provide VDS winch system
Curtiss-Wright has been selected by Raytheon to provide its winch system technology to deploy the new Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) being developed for the US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class, the company announced on 21 September.
Raytheon has been contracted by the US Navy to develop the VDS that will be deployed from the LCS to locate and track submarines.
The ship-deployed sonar system design is identical for both LCS variants. It features reduced weight to minimise ship impact and increase manoeuvrability. The new design also provides the opportunity for increased payloads.
Lynn Bamford, SVP and GM, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions, said: ‘Curtiss-Wright’s INDAL business unit will contribute its decades of towed sonar winch and handling system expertise to Raytheon’s VDS team to develop an innovative and lightweight winch solution for LCS.
‘The reliable and cost-effective VDS technology will enable the navy to rapidly introduce this new anti-submarine capability to meet the LCS mission.’
Under this agreement, Curtiss-Wright joins Raytheon's team that will advance the VDS design to a full Pre-Production Test Article by late 2018.
More from Digital Battlespace
-
Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
-
EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI
The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.
-
Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker
The Vision4ce Deep Embedded Feature Tracking (DEFT) technology software is designed to process video and images by blending traditional computer vision with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to present actionable information from complex environments.
-
Wave Relay devices cleared for security use on commercial systems in industry trend
Persistent Systems has been cleared by National Security Agency (NSA) to transmit sensitive data on commercial networks. The devices are added to the NSA’s Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) component list which also includes other companies’ products providing the same security.
-
UK teases cyber spending boost in Strategic Defence Review ahead of “imminent” release
The release of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) has been long promised as mid-year. It is possible it could be as early as 2 June although the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to play its cards close to its chest.
-
Intelsat emphasises SATCOM resilience for SOF in contested domains (video)
Intelsat outlines how its multi-orbit SATCOM architecture is enhancing connectivity and resilience for special operations forces operating in degraded and contested environments.