Page 14: of Marine News Magazine (June 2021)

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Insights with regulatory body compliance of their new 200-foot-

What does your ? rm bring to the table in the long clamshell dredge. On the other end of the spectrum, area of automation and autonomy?

CD: Gibbs & Cox brings nearly a century of ship design our team recently developed a new product model for experience, and familiarity with commercial and defense Cruisers Yachts, a ? berglass boat builder in Oconto, Wis. ship builders the world over, to the autonomy table. We’ve In addition to platform designs, we have clients in the combined that with a new department dedicated to the development of mechanical systems designs. One project we are particularly excited about participating in is the design, development, test, and operational lifecycle sup- port of unmanned systems. Our Autonomy department modernization of the towing tank carriage for Virginia includes a number of industry specialists in robotics and Tech. Our team is working with university researchers to upgrade the carriage mechanical and control systems other unmanned systems, as well as the industry part- nerships they have developed over their own expansive and achieve a signi? cant increase in system capabilities to careers. This department has racked up a formidable set facilitate hydrodynamic research which could not previ- ously be conducted. of business captures, totaling a 200M$ portfolio that ex- tends from concept development (DARPA SEATRAIN

What will Leidos’ acquisition of Gibbs & Cox and NOMARS) through development and operations of mean for the ? rm now and into the future?

a DOD program of record (Medium USV)—showcasing

CD: For Gibbs & Cox, the transaction strengthens our ca- our systems engineering capability through the entire sys- pabilities by adding the technology-driven core of Leidos. tem development life cycle.

It enables the leveraging of a wide range of technologies,

Gibbs & Cox is adept at preparing for and obtaining ap- proval for American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) inspections including AI/ML, signal processing, sensing and rapid for machinery control systems (MCS), including designing prototyping.

This Gibbs & Cox acquisition accelerates Leidos’ mari- and programming/developing the hardware, instrumenta- tion, and modular controllers required for orchestrating time strategy by providing placement, credentials, and ca- the operation of that machinery. We are commissioning pabilities to position for future U.S. Navy build plans. The a Controller Hardware in the Loop (CHIL) capability for renowned Gibbs & Cox brand, brings immediate cred- the integration and test of various hardware, controllers, ibility to Leidos maritime efforts and positions Leidos as a leading engineering design and autonomy provider for controller software and autonomy interfaces for future au- tonomous vessels. We offer solutions for the integration, USV programs. For Leidos, this signi? cantly up scales our evaluation, and test, including veri? cation and validation, naval architecture and engineering talent and prowess and adds production design engineers that can be leveraged of multiple vendors for perception, avoidance and mis- sion planning, classi? ed data processing, and engineering across company.

The deal expands both companies deeper in the under- operations control, all aligned to and supporting the Un- sea domain through the combined marine engineering and manned Maritime Autonomy Architecture (UMAA) de- platform integration capabilities.

velopment effort under the DOD.

The transaction will create a partnership between two companies driven by dedication to customer mission and

Looking at the commercial maritime sector, will accelerate an expansion of products and services to what types of projects has Gibbs & Cox current and future customers. Leidos intends to preserve recently completed and/or is currently and leverage Gibbs & Cox’s strong brand and reputation working on in?

in the market. The intent is to keep the Gibbs & Cox busi-

CD: G&C supports a wide range of customers in the com- mercial sector, primarily from our of? ces in New Orleans ness intact (including subsidiaries and joint ventures) and and Chesapeake. Our client base ranges from commercial consider opportunities for adding in complementary capa- marine operators to recreational boat builders. Our recent bilities from across Leidos. Gibbs & Cox will operate as a projects include supporting Norfolk Dredging Company wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos.

14 | MN June 2021