Navy asks industry for 160 obsolescent PMC Ethernet controllers for ship communications
Editor's note: GE Intelligent Platforms changed its name to Abaco Systems on 23 Nov. 2015 as a result of the company's acquisition last September by New York-based private equity firm Veritas Capital.
PORT HUENEME, Calif., 13 Sept. 2013. U.S. Navy shipboard weapons experts are reaching out to industry to find 160 obsolescent PCI mezzanine card (PMC) Ethernet controllers that the Navy purchased originally a decade ago to replace then-obsolescent Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) technology in various Navy programs.
Officials of Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Port Hueneme Division in Port Hueneme, Calif., are trying to locate sources for the PMC675 embedded computing communications device, last built by GE Intelligent Platforms in Huntsville, Ala., and designed originally by RAMiX Inc. of Ventura, Calif., which GE acquired in 2003.
GE discontinued the PMC675 PMC Ethernet switch in 2011, and it wasn't clear at presstime if the company is still able to supply the device in numbers the Navy needs.
One typical use of the PMC675 is on the Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and other surface warships as part of the Aegis system. The Navy has used the PMC675 as a network interface for the AN/UYQ-70 advanced shipboard display system.
NSWC Port Hueneme installs, maintains and upgrades weapon systems aboard Navy surface warships and Coast Guard cutters, including missiles, missile launchers, and radar systems.
The PMC675 combines two 100BaseFX Ethernet controllers with a local Power PC RISC processor and PCI bridge system for a variety of data transfer applications. The board is designed for standard 100-megabit Ethernet and PCI protocols.
The PMC675 can provide dual-Ethernet access while keeping all control in the system host. The board also can switch physical access automatically. Its embedded TCP/IP also enables the host to offload the TCP/IP overhead to the local I/O co-processor.
The Navy is asking companies able to supply 160 versions of this card to respond to a request for quote (RFQ N63394-13-T-0053) with pricing and availability no later than 23 Sept. 2013.
Respond by email to the Navy's Rachel Smith at [email protected], or Irene Becerra at [email protected].
For questions or concerns, email Smith or Becerra at the email addresses above, or Smith by phone at 805-228-0442 or by fax at 805-228-6299. Also contact Becerra by phone at 805-228-0650.
More information on this solicitation is online at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DON/NAVSEA/N63394/N63394-13-T-0053/listing.html.
For additional information contact the NSWC Port Hueneme Division online at www.navsea.navy.mil/nswc/porthueneme, or GE Intelligent Platforms at www.ge-ip.com/.
