Navy picks Green Expert for cyber security in integrated bridge control systems aboard surface warships
PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Navy surface warfare experts needed cyber security software and support for the integrated bridge control systems aboard Navy Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided-missile destroyers. They found their solution from Green Expert Technology Inc. in Haddonfield, N.J.
Officials of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division in Philadelphia announced a $13 million order to Green Expert last Friday for cyber security support for Arleigh Burke-class integrated bridge control systems.
Cyber security enhancements will help make sophisticated computer-based integrated bridge systems aboard these surface warships resistant to enemy attempts to commandeer the ship's navigation and control, and also help mitigate potential problems with computer bugs.
Burke-class destroyers rely on the Aegis combat system and SPY-1D multi-function passive electronically scanned array radar. The ship carries more than 90 missiles, and is larger and more heavily armed than many previous classes of guided-missile cruisers.
Burke-class destroyers are designed for anti-aircraft warfare with Aegis and surface-to-air missiles; tactical land strikes with Tomahawk missiles; anti-submarine warfare with towed array sonar, anti-submarine rockets, and helicopters; and anti-surface warfare with ship-to-ship missiles and guns.
The common Integrated Bridge and Navigation Systems (IBNS) aboard Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are from the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems segment in Charlottesville, Va. IBNS is a hull, mechanical, and electrical upgrade to modernize Burke-class destroyers and ensure the ships remain affordable and ready for combat throughout their life cycles.
Integrated bridge systems handle automated collection, processing, control, and display of ship control and navigation sensor data to help make the most of bridge watch efficiency and ship control safety.
These systems blend voyage planning and real-time bridge navigation tracking; track steering ship control; radar contact track and video overlay; interfaces to the machinery control systems; moving haven and water space management; position uncertainty fix expansion; lines of position navigation fix capability; commanding officer password protect of approved voyage plans; electronic bearing lines and variable range; chart markup; operator text overlay; operating areas; over-the-horizon areas of uncertainty; joint tactical action areas; and submarine-generated search areas.
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IBNS components include the Voyage Management System (VMS) -- a computer based navigation, planning, and monitoring system. It meets U.S. Navy’s Electronic Chart Display and Information System - Navy (ECDIS-N) requirements, and provides tools for the ship's crew to navigate electronically.
Also part of the IBNS is the Automated Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) system that automatically acquires and tracks contacts for the ship's bridge watch team.
The IBNS also has the Ship Control System (SCS) that provides command and control signals to the ship control and propulsion systems and monitors their performance.
On this order Green Expert will do the work in Haddonfield, N.J., and in Philadelphia, and should be finished by May 2025. With options the project could continue through May 2029. for more information contact Green Expert Technology online at https://greenxt.com, or the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division at www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWC-Philadelphia.
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.
