Systems Upgrade For Royal Navy Minehunting Ships
Northrop Grumman Corporation has received a contract from BAE Systems to upgrade the machinery control, alarm and surveillance (MCAS) systems on eight U.K. Royal Navy Hunt-class mine countermeasure vessels. The systems, from the Sperry Marine business unit, will monitor more than 500 sensor points on the ships’ main propulsion engines and drive systems, generators and auxiliary machinery.
The scope of work will also include extended warranty and spares. Installation, testing and commissioning will be contracted following completion and validation of the design with installations scheduled to take place on the eight vessels between 2011 and 2015.
“The Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine solutions are based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) industry-standard components for all key building blocks within the system”, said J. Nolasco DaCunha, vice president of Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine. “This helps to control initial capital costs and also ensures cost-effective through-life support using industry-standard parts, which are readily available through industrial suppliers worldwide.”
“These ships play an important role in enabling the Royal Navy to carry out its operational commitments, which includes protecting valuable shipping lanes”, said Sir Nigel Essenhigh, chairman of Northrop Grumman U.K. “We are pleased to be the chosen supplier for these system upgrades which add to the portfolio of mission-critical products, systems and services that we offer to the Royal Navy.”