Northrop Grumman [NOC] is demonstrating a prototype craft loaded with a suite of network-centric warfare systems that it is looking to market to the Navy’s riverine forces and for homeland security.

The one-of-a-kind Joint Multi-mission Expeditionary Craft (JMEC), is designed by Bellingham, Wash.-based Aluminum Chambered Boats (ACB), is 41-feet long, and slightly less than 10-feet wide with a draft of only 28 inches. The boat can reach a top speed of 40-knots and it can be configured to meet the needs of customers and specific missions, reports our sister publication Defense Daily.

The boat is actually wider, but is limited on the prototype to 10-feet to enable it to be transported by truck, a Northrop Grumman spokesman says.

JMEC has a range of greater than 300 miles at cruise speed, Northrop Grumman says.

ACB’s design is a bow loader, so the bow can be dropped down to enable forces to depart from the front.

Northrop Grumman designed the suite of mission systems for the boat that includes the company’s navigation system along with satellite communications, a roof mounted stabilized remote weapon system gun mount, Koden radar, SeaFLIR III electro-optical/infrared camera, VHF/UHF antenna and the Automatic Identification System (AIS).

The roof-mounted Gatling gun is operated from inside the cabin by a joy stick. A flat panel display provides the weapon operator with images of potential targets.

AIS provides information on all ships of 300 gross tons or greater.

“The idea is to bring C4I to a tactical boat to enhance situational awareness, the Northrop Grumman spokesman says. The systems provide the boat with network communications beyond line of sight, he adds.

Inside the cabin are three workstations, each with a 17-inch Sperry Marine display that can provide maps and other information. The workstations can be reconfigured for two to four personnel, depending on the mission.

“The user interface is a big challenge,” the spokesman says. Operators found they were having some difficulty running the various systems in sea state 2, he says.

For example, operators had trouble operating the EO/IR. The vendor supplied a Nintendo-type controller that the operators found easier to use in rough seas.

ACB’s JMEC also has the ROVRE (Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver) antenna, similar to the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ground system used by Army personnel in Iraq. Images collected by a UAV can be sent to the boat and viewed on the ship’s displays. The information could also be sent off-board and shared with other platforms. Images can also be collected and posted to a Web site for viewing by personnel at shore bases or on other ships, the spokesman says.

Information garnered by AIS can be put into the boat’s blue force tracker, and that information can also be shared with other assets, even with assets that are beyond-line-of- sight, he says.

“We can integrate Marine Corps and Army blue force tracker as well as commercial blue force tracker,” the spokesman says.

During a recent demonstration on the Potomac River the boat was able to hit its top speed of 40-knots, as well as conduct a series of maneuvers showing the vessels agility, and its ability to quickly stop–more commonly known as “bucket stops.”

ACB’s boat is powered by two Cummins QSC 8.3 liter, 540 horsepower turbocharged diesel engines.