UK team researches new command space layout for submarines
Dstl and the Department of Transportation Research at Southampton University have built a simulator to explore how the command space in future submarines could be reconfigured.
Dstl technical partner Chris Parnell said: ‘Having operators facing inwards creates conditions for much better shared situation awareness between the command team; and placing the officer of the watch in the centre of the command team leads to a more efficient tactical picture generation.’
Working under the Command Team-working Experimental Test-bed (ComTET) programme, Dstl provided the simulation engine in the form of commercial gaming software. University students, Dstl staff and industry participants used a bespoke training package to act as submariners.
A second simulator has been built at Dstl’s Portsdown West site which replicates and will build upon the Southampton facility and will enable more sensitive data to be generated.
Dstl is now undertaking human-in-the-loop assessments of industry-created human machine interface prototypes, which fuse sensor data in an approach to pave the way for future RN command teams to adopt new ways of working. This will include alternative roles, new procedures, adjustments to manning and changes to training regimes.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![UK MoD faces ‘serious’ ASW gap as Defence Committee outlines Arctic requirements]()
UK MoD faces ‘serious’ ASW gap as Defence Committee outlines Arctic requirements
Anti-submarine warfare, uncrewed vessels and seabed monitoring top the demand list in the Defence Committee’s High North roadmap for the 2030s.
-
![Autonomy gives Turkey a chance to outflank established naval shipbuilders]()
Autonomy gives Turkey a chance to outflank established naval shipbuilders
Turkish shipbuilders have sold ships from Asia to Europe, but autonomy and swarm technology could give them a fairer fight against Western European rivals.
-
![Canada assesses security equipment changes for Polar Icebreaker Imnaryuaq]()
Canada assesses security equipment changes for Polar Icebreaker Imnaryuaq
The Canadian Department of National Defence is evaluating communications and reconnaissance changes for CCGS Imnaryuaq’s expanded maritime security role, while retaining its 2032 acceptance target.
-
![All eyes on Royal Navy’s Type 93 market engagement as industry prepares bids]()
All eyes on Royal Navy’s Type 93 market engagement as industry prepares bids
Responses are due by 29 October as the Royal Navy tests the market, with BAE Systems’ Herne and MSubs’ Excalibur setting up a contest where payloads may decide the winner.
