UK: Northrop Grumman Corporation to Support NLSS Signaling System for HMS Queen Elizabeth

Northrop Grumman Corporation has signed a full production contract for the Navigation Lights Shapes and Sounds (NLSS) signaling system for the Royal Navy’s next-generation Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. The contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, an industrial alliance between the UK Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems Surface Ships, BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies, Babcock Marine and Thales Naval.

Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit will build and deliver the complete NLSS system for the new aircraft carriers. The system has been designed by Northrop Grumman together with its technology partner Oxley Developments and includes an innovative solution for navigation and signal lights plus control of ships’ audible signaling equipment.

The system includes 47 lights utilizing state-of-the-art LED technology to ensure that it is night vision-friendly. This reduction in interference with night vision systems, coupled with an increase in service life, operational redundancy and survivability, were the key factors in the choice of LED technology.

“This innovative approach will meet the carrier’s navigation light and sound system requirements efficiently and cost-effectively,” said Alan Dix, managing director of Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine. “Our proven automation technology will last longer and be more redundant.”

The NLSS control system is based upon Northrop Grumman’s standard products using network-based Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) industrial automation technology. International regulation and signaling requirements are met in the NLSS by using pre-programmed commands from touch screen workstations with full status and diagnostic indication.

Deliveries will commence in 2012 as Northrop Grumman has already completed the initial design phase of the contract.

Northrop Grumman is already delivering the Integrated Navigation Bridge System, Inertial Navigation System, Navigation Data Distribution System and the Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System (WECDIS). Based on the company’s advanced VisionMaster FT^™ ship navigation technology, WECDIS will integrate all the ship’s navigation sensors and systems into a modern, efficient, ergonomic network of multifunction workstations to meet operational requirements.

Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine is a business unit of Northrop Grumman’s Naval and Marine Systems Division. Headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., and with major engineering and support offices in New Malden, United Kingdom, and Hamburg, Germany, it provides smart navigation and ship control solutions for the international marine industry with customer service and support through offices in 16 countries, sales representatives in 47 countries and authorized service depots in more than 250 locations worldwide.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

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Source: irconnect, October 13, 2011