U.S. Navy’s Virginia Class Submarines Continue to Use Barco’s Rugged Displays

Visualization pioneer Barco has received a contract award to supply its latest generation of rugged displays to General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB), expanding upon its long history of U.S. Navy submarine support to provide these units within the Virginia class submarine’s SCS.

General Dynamics Electric Boat is outfitting all future production submarines with Barco’s TL-351 20” and TD 138 15” thin, rugged displays in the primary SCS. Additional units will also be deployed in the remote input consoles, which send sensor data to the SCS, as well as redundancy stations. In total, Barco displays are typically found in more than 30 positions on every submarine and the Virginia class is no exception.

The Virginia class submarine is the U.S. Navy’s latest nuclear tactical submarine, featuring enhanced surveillance capabilities and innovative warfare capabilities for multi-mission requirements, thanks to digital “fly-by-wire” architecture and sophisticated automation technologies. Designed with an emphasis on littoral operations, the Virginia class will support a full range of covert special warfare missions: search and rescue, reconnaissance, sabotage and diversionary attacks, forward observation for fire direction, and direct strikes against enemy objectives.

Representing the TL-351 is Barco’s 20″ thin and lightweight rugged display solution, which combines unmatched thinness with exceptionally low weight, ideal for applications where space and weight are critical. It was designed with a special analog resistive touch screen especially for Electric Boat. The display features excellent brightness, crispness, contrast and a wide viewing angle, and is overall, a highly versatile product at a competitive price/performance point. Barco offers its TL displays with two extra ruggedization levels, which are suited for specific naval combat, army and airborne applications.

The TD 138 15” is a flat panel color display designed to meet MIL standards in hostile environments. Featuring XGA resolution (1024×768), the LCD offers superior contrast, precise color and versatility for a multitude of undersea operations.

“We are pleased to continue our relationship with General Dynamics Electric Boat and build upon our successful history of supplying rugged displays for the Ship Control Station since inception of the program,” commented Ron Farine, VP Sales, Barco Federal Systems. “Since the early 1990’s, we’ve supplied over 700 displays on behalf of GDEB and many more via other contractors, outfitting every class of submarine as proud supporters of the Team Sub community. The in-depth knowledge we’ve gained through these experiences makes Barco an ideal solution for the planned tech refresh of the Virginia class submarine in accordance with the rapid COTS insertion philosophy.”

About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3,500 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 897 million euro in 2010.
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Source: barco, April 5, 2011