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www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 25 the LCS seaframes. The ruggedized

COTS workstations will have the same software packages. The lab enables the flexible development, integration and certification of the initial spiral software packages.

The software packages can be read- ily adapted as the technology and processing capability matures. "It's rapidly reconfigurable," Roberts says. "We can be certifying 1.0 while we are developing 1.1" "We're looking at tighter integra- tion if the command and control software for the vehicles, with less legacy software employed where pos- sible," says Sandy Martin, a system engineer at NSWC Panama City.

The RMV, for example, is autonomous, and follows pre- planned waypoints. The operator on the LCS can monitor the visual pres- entation transmitted from the camera on the mast. The vehicle operator works next to the sensor operator. In the future, the two stations might be combined, or one operator might be able to control multiple vehicles. "We want to aim for less and less vehicle control, and only intervene with an autonomous vehicle as need- ed," Martin says. "LCS has shattered all of the old approaches to ship- building," says Martin. "This is the first time we have pulled this many items together that were never designed to work together."

Visit www.maritimeequipment.com/mt & Click No. 208

Navy Awards Contract for Third LCS

The U.S. Navy awarded a $197.6 million contract option to a team lead by Lockheed

Martin for construction of the third Littoral

Combat Ship (LCS). LCS 3 will be the sec- ond built by the Lockheed Martin team. "This contract award is a testament to the strong resolve of both the Navy and indus- try to get these highly capable ships into the water as quickly as possible," said Rear

Adm. Charles Hamilton, the Navy's Program

Executive Officer for Ships. "LCS will introduce unprecedented speed, agility and flexibility into the littoral battle- space. The rapid acquisition of these modu- lar warships sets a new standard for pro- curement in support of the warfighter."

The Lockheed Martin team will begin con- struction of LCS 3 in January 2007 at

Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La., and ship delivery is planned for 2009. It will later be homeported in San Diego, Calif., with the first two ships of the class.

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Maritime Systems & Sensors unit, Moorestown, NJ, is the prime contractor. Teammates include

Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, LA, ship designer Gibbs & Cox, Arlington, Va., and

Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wis., which is currently building LCS 1 Freedom.

Under a separate contract, General

Dynamics is currently building LCS 2

Independence, with an option to build a sec- ond ship.

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