Submarine ES System RF Groom & Certification Navy STTR FY2008 Sol No.: Navy STTR FY2008 Topic No.: N08-T015 Topic Title: Submarine ES System RF Groom & Certification Proposal No.: N08A-015-0018 Firm: SEA CORP 62 Johnny Cake Hill Aquidneck Corporate Park Middletown, Rhode Island 02842-0000 Contact: Dave Patridge Phone: (401) 832-2568 Web Site: www.seacorp.com Abstract: US Navy submarine forces currently employ an independent team who typically conduct in excess of 60 man-days to test, measure, calibrate and certify radio frequency (RF) signal paths. Ships personnel have no means of self-calibrating or performing an operational verification of their Electronic Surveillance suites once underway. The SEA CORP Team proposes to develop innovative technologies to provide an Organic Groom and Certification System (OGCS). The proposed conceptual design will be incorporated as an independent modulation module and RF source for the testing of the complete frequency spectrum of the submarines periscope. Testing objectives will include an approach for adapting calibration waveforms and modulation formats for Specific Emitter Identification (SEID) and Low Probability of Intercept (LPI), as well as accurate measurement of degradation in the RF path and front end components in the form of group delay, gain/loss measurements, and system attenuation. The Team will develop test methodology for calculating energy levels at sensor antennas and across the RF path, through development of correction tables that can be applied to the individual ES subsystems. The Option portion will analyze the ability to conduct a Radiated RF test between a Mission Configurable Mast and the Periscope system under test. Benefits: The successful execution of the Phase I will result in a more effective ES suite RF Groom and Certification Process. The potential is there to have ships force technician to have the pride and ownership of their own ES suites. Implementation of this innovative technology will lessen the required duration of the pre-deployment ES certification period permitting other activities for ships force personnel. This capability will also increase the ships ability to perform more comprehensive troubleshooting of complex RF faults and recertify the ES suite while deployed. The proposed organic groom and certification capability has commercial and military marketability for some industries such as aerospace and marine electronics industries where the calibration and reliability of complex radar system and communication devices is required. Although the legacy groom and certification process works today, the scheduling and complexity of testing requires enhancement and automation. This proposal will address these enhancements and provide the submarine technician the means to calibrate, troubleshoot, and certify while deployed. It may be feasible to have ship's force create the shipboard measurement for pre-deployment testing and pass the data to an evaluation site for approval. This capability may result in a significant and immediate demand across all branches of the military for vessels and facilities, not just limited to submarines. For the submarine market, establishing this organic capability would yield a variant of the system by ship class. The Navy could decide to procure systems for all submarine classes including 688, 688I, SSBN, SSGN, Seawolf, and Virginia, which total in excess of 60 systems. Beyond the submarine market, US Navy surface ships could become candidates for similar organic groom and certification systems for their RF suites. The number of US Navy platforms that could become candidate is in the hundreds. Taking the concept outside the Navy, the same organic groom and certification concept could be applied to Air Force, Marines, and Army platforms that are ground based, airborne, or sea based making additional military commercialization potential options in the hundreds yet again. Foreign military sales for various air, land, and sea based platforms could also be candidates for such a capability. Similar to Navy ship applications, the OGCS system could become a highly desirable component of merchant, cruise, custom yacht and commercial fishing vessel systems. In an effort toward continued safety of ship, the navigation radar system, transponder beacons, Automatic Identification System (AIS), and communication system could be organically groomed, tested, and certified. Although the U.S. produces less than 10% of the world's ocean going shipping, there are still 24 active shipyards here capable of building ships over 400 feet in length. There are over 280 commercial ships, tugs, and barges currently under construction in the U.S. alone for delivery over the next 6 years. Worldwide, there are 229 LNG and 196 LPG tankers in service, with another 144 LNG and 86 LPG tankers under construction. There are over 200 large cruise ships in service with another 37 on order. The number of other merchant ships and commercial fishing trawlers in service and on order is many times higher. The potential of a safety of ship test application for the RF system on these types of platforms provides non-military commercialization potential for this proposed concept. Return