SHIPBOARD ELECTRO-OPTIC/INFRARED SYSTEMS
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WWW.SEAPOWERMAGAZINE.ORG 94 SEAPOWER ALMANAC 2016
includes active and passive ranging, image enhancement, recording and storage of images, and image-transmission capabilities.
CONTRACTOR: ...........Lockheed Martin Corp.
TYPE 18 PERISCOPE
BRIEFING: The Type 18 is a hull-penetrating mast that provides
optical, low-light-level television and color television imaging,
as well as digital photography and ESM intercept capability. It is
installed on Los Angeles- and Seawolf-class submarines.
CON TRACTOR: ...........L- 3 KEO
PHOTONICS MAST/LOW-PROFILE
PHOTONICS MAST
BRIEFING: The Photonics mast is a non-hull-penetrating
periscope mast installed on the Virginia-class submarines. It
provides multi-spectral sensing, allowing for visual, infrared
and low-light-level television imaging in a single mast, along
with a laser range-finder.
The Low-Profile Photonics Mast (LPPM) has the capabilities
of the original mast but has a stealthier, slimmer profile similar
to that of a 7.5-inch-diameter Type 18 periscope. Two prototypes built by Ultra Electronics and one by L- 3 KEO reached
IOC in 2015. L- 3 KEO was awarded a contract in May 2015 to
build up to 29 Block 4 LPPMs. Deliveries are scheduled to begin
in 2017.
CONTRACTORS:.........L- 3 KEO, Ultra Electronics
PATROL BOAT ELECTRO-OPTICS
SYSTEM (PB-EOS)
BRIEFING: The PB-EOS is a variant of the SeaFLIR 280-HD
maritime electro-optic/infrared imaging system being built for
Navy and Coast Guard patrol boats. A $49.9 million contract
was awarded in September 2013.
CONTRACTOR: ...........FLIR Systems Inc.
SHIPBOARD SONAR SYSTEMS
SQQ- 32 SONAR
BRIEFING: The SQQ- 32 minehunting high-resolution sonar is
deployed on Avenger-class mine countermeasures (MCM) ships
to detect and classify sea mines. It can operate in a retracted
mode for operations in shallow water or lowered through the
hull and towed for operations in deeper water. An upgraded version, the SQQ- 32(V) 4, designed to improve performance in
cluttered waters, increase search rate and provide improved resolution imagery, was installed in January 2012 onboard USS
Guardian. Installation in the rest of the MCM fleet was scheduled for completion in 2015.
CON TRACTOR: ...........BAE Systems
SQS- 53 SONAR
BRIEFING: The SQS- 53 is the digitally controlled, bow-mounted,
active/passive sonar on most of the Navy’s surface combatants,
including Ticonderoga-class cruisers (SQS-53A/B/D) and Arleigh
Burke-class destroyers (SQS-53C). The SQS-53D includes COTS
processors and is replacing the SQS-53A/B on Ticonderoga cruisers.
CONTRACTORS:.........General Electric Co., Raytheon Co., ITT Corp.
BQQ- 5 AND BQQ- 6 SONAR
BRIEFING: The BQQ- 5 active/passive sonar is a digital replacement of the BQQ- 2 sonar. It includes a large spherical array that
is installed in the bow of Los Angeles-class submarines. The
BQQ- 6 is a similar primarily passive system, with limited active
capability, installed on Ohio-class Trident submarines. Both
sonar types are being replaced by the BQQ- 10.
CONTRACTOR: ...........Lockheed Martin Corp.
BQQ- 10 SONAR
BRIEFING: The BQQ- 10 designation has been given to the multiphase Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion program to upgrade
U.S. submarine sonar systems into an open-architecture common configuration. The BQQ- 10 includes the Submarine
Precision Underwater Mapping and Navigation Upgrade
(PUMA) to map the sea floor and register geographic features —
including man-made objects such as mines — and display them
in a three-dimensional form on a computer screen. PUMA
allows a submarine to conduct covert minefield surveillance
and avoidance and transmit the intelligence to other platforms.
The BQQ- 10’s open architecture allows rapid insertion of new
technologies, including the conformal array, large vertical array
and advanced towed arrays now under development.
CONTRACTORS:.........Lockheed Martin Corp., General Dynamics
Corp., Advanced Research Laboratory of the
University of Texas at Austin
LIGHTWEIGHT WIDE-APERTURE
ARRAY (LWAA)
BRIEFING: The LWAA is passive sonar system installed on the
Virginia-class attack submarine. The acoustic sensors are
housed in conformal fairings along the hull of the submarine.
CONTRACTOR: ...........L- 3 Communications Corp.
LARGE-APERTURE BOW ARRAY (LAB)
BRIEFING: The LAB is a bow-mounted sonar array installed on
the Block III and subsequent blocks of the Virginia-class submarines. It replaces the bow sonar sphere to allow installation
of two Virginia Payload Tubes that replaced the 12 individual
vertical launch tubes, achieving significant cost reductions. IOC
was achieved in 2014 on USS North Dakota.
CONTRACTOR: ...........Lockheed Martin Corp.
