www.maritimeindustries.org
UK Submarine Fleet Communications
Peter Hodgkinson Systems Engineering
& Assessment Limited (SEA)
Over ten years ago the UK Royal Navy commissioned the design and test of an open architecture submarine communication system. The open design enables the submarine communications system to benefit from all the advantages of an open system whilst maintaining the resilience and security required in this demanding maritime defence environment.
These systems are now
established and currently in service on the Trafalgar and Astute class submarines. Following this success, the Royal Navy intends to adopt it as the common communications system across the fleet.
As Network Centric Warfare grows and autonomous systems are introduced, the demands on the open communications system
increase exponentially. This is where the open architecture delivers, by supporting the capability step change driven by Network Centric Warfare and Autonomous systems.
It enables capacity increase and individual platforms to be quickly modified to accommodate new technologies and new capabilities needed for specific missions. It does this while reducing the cost, and time taken to implement change.
What does the future for maritime defence communications hold?
It is anticipated that communications requirements will continue to increase over the next ten years and the need to reduce manpower will also need to be addressed.
The key themes for the next generation of communications will be to extend the boundary of communications external to the submarine, enable communications from a depth and to automate the system thus enabling user‐driven communications. This will see the end of the old wireless Telegraphy office as the capability
HMS Vanguard and Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon
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Society of Maritime Industries Annual Review 2018
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