NEwS
amount of development has been coming out of NRL to support the programme,” said Roger Ellis, ONR’s programme officer. Te EMRG is a long-range weapon that launches
projectiles using electricity instead of chemical propellants. Under development by the Department of the Navy for use aboard ships, the system will provide the US navy with a multi-mission capabil- ity, allowing it to conduct precise naval surface fire support or land strikes; cruise missile and ballistic missile defence; and surface warfare. “The weapon does all
its damage because of
its speed,” said Dr Roger McGinnis, programme executive for ONR’s Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department, which oversees
EMRG launches projectiles at 2-2.5km per second (4500-5600mph) without using explosives.” As part of the EMRG development programme, the
ONR and NRL co-funded scientists at NRL to build and operate a 6m-long, 50mm-diameter railgun as a sub-scale experiment at the Materials Testing Facility (MTF). Researchers fired the first shot with the rail gun in March 2007 and have fired an average of 300 shots per year since 2008. A railgun launches projectiles by generating
magnetic fields created by electrical currents that accelerate a sliding metal conductor, or armature, between two rails.
Company news
Vestdavit appoints Australian naval service partner
Norway-based boat handling system and special- ised davit supplier Vestdavit has appointed Australia’s Hydraulink NT as its service partner for Australia, building on a successful long term contract to supply the Royal Australian Navy with highly capable davits for its fleet of Armidale class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs). Vestdavit has supplied 28 purpose-designed
PLAR4500 davits for the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of 14 Armidale class OPVs. Each davit can safely
Vestdavit supplied 28 PLAR4500 davits for the Royal Australian Navy’s Armidale class OPVs.
the EMRG. The
launch and recover an 8m Zodiac fast boarding craſt in seas up to 4m. Vestdavit also supplied 16 PLA 2000 davits to the Australian Customs for their patrol boats and eight lightweight aluminium davits for the Royal New Zealand Navy.
Submarines
Torbay RAMP features comms and stealth gains
Babcock has started work on a substantial Revalida- tion and Assisted Maintenance Period (RAMP) for Trafalgar class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) HMS Torbay, at Devonport Royal Dockyard. The 300,000 man-hour RAMP will ensure the
submarine is safe to operate for the rest of her commission, and will include significant communica- tions upgrades and work that will improve camouflage and minimise operating noise. Communications upgrades will include improve-
ments to internal communications, especially through bulkheads, with the installation of the Cromwell radio antenna upgrade, and final instal- lation of the ship alongside upgrade which is used in harbour to provide connectivity, television and telephone services on board. Torbay’s RAMP will also mark a ‘first’ with an
extensive painting package to better camouflage the submarine when operating in shallow waters. A high level of work is expected to be included as a result of surveys, particularly in the ballast and internal tanks, and it is likely that the submarine tail shaſt will be replaced (requiring some 33 weeks in dry dock). As well as inspection of the hull and propulsion
systems, the RAMP will accommodate a significant amount of non-destructive testing and inspection of the major components in the reactor compart- ment. Torbay will be the final submarine to undergo an upgrade to the discharge system that provides an additional above-waterline connection to the primary circuit, providing an improved relief path used during high-pressure testing known as hot liſts (undertaken as part of the commissioning programme).
Equipment Caley bell handling
system for US Navy Offshore handling systems specialist Caley Ocean Systems has supplied a diving bell handling system to Phoenix International Holdings for a Saturation Fly Away Diving System (SAT FADS) designed and built by Phoenix for the US Navy.
8 Warship Technology January 2012
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