Boeing to build hardware for high-speed fiber-optic shipboard networking aboard Navy Burke-class destroyers
WASHINGTON – Military communications experts at the Boeing Co. will build new hardware for high-speed fiber-optic shipboard networking aboard U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers under terms of an $13.3 million order announced on Friday.
Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington are asking the Boeing Defense, Space & Security segment in Huntington Beach, Calif., to provide AN/USQ-82(V) hardware new-construction and upgrades for Burke-class destroyers, as well as for related support to Japan and Australia.
The AN/USQ-82(V) fiber-optic control systems network transfers mission-critical data to and from users of combat, navigation, aviation, power, propulsion, steering, alarms and indicating, and damage-control systems.
The AN/USQ-82(V) family consists of the Data Multiplex System (DMS), the Fiber Optic Data Multiplex System (FODMS), and Gigabit Ethernet Data Multiplex System (GEDMS).
The AN/USQ-82(V) family of shipboard networking equipment transfers inputs and outputs for the Burke-class destroyer's machinery control systems, damage-control system, steering control system, Aegis combat system, navigation displays, and interior communications alarms and indicators.
Boeing designed this shipboard network equipment to replace the mile of point-to-point cabling, signal converters, junction boxes, and switchboards that make up a conventional ship’s cabling, Navy officials say.
As the AN/USQ-82(V) design agent, Boeing will provide advanced and specialized system sustainment technical engineering; cyber security enhancement; configuration management; systems development, qualification, and integration; testing; and technical support to manufacturing and repair vendors.
The AN/USQ-82(V) is being installed on new Burke-class destroyers, as well as in upgrades to 27 flight I/II Burke-class destroyers. The AN/USQ-82(V) is designed to transfer data via a reliable, redundant, mission-critical network backbone aboard Navy surface warships.
Related: Boeing to provide fiber-optic high-speed shipboard networking for three new Navy destroyers
It is the most recent upgrade to the Navy's Data Multiplex System (DMS) networks, and offers enhanced network communication capabilities by providing an IP-based backbone that supports multimedia services such as video and data.
AN/USQ-82(V) increases a surface ship's capacity to support data transfer for the Burke-class destroyer's latest upgraded hull, mechanical, and electrical systems. Additional benefits include manpower reduction and increased crew safety by using video and sensors for monitoring remote or confined shipboard spaces, Boeing officials say.
In September 1989, Boeing delivered the first DMS system to the Navy for installation aboard the USS Arleigh Burke, the namesake for the DDG 51 class destroyer. As the DDG new ship construction continued, the DMS was upgraded to the Fiber Optic Data Multiplex System (FODMS) to support evolving needs.
In August 2010, the Navy replaced the copper-based DMS systems installed on the Arleigh Burke and the USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) with the high-performance fiber-optic AN/USQ-82(V), the latest variant in the DMS family of networks.
The manufacturer of the AN/USQ-82(V) fiber-optic shipboard network is Argon ST in Fairfax, Va., a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing, which acquired Argon ST in 2010 to expand capabilities in C4ISR, cyber security, and intelligence.
On this order Boeing will do the work in Smithfield, Pa., and should be finished by August 2021. For more information contact Boeing Defense, Space & Security online at www.boeing.com, Argon ST at www.argonst.com, or Naval Sea Systems Command at www.navsea.navy.mil.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
