Installation of the Submarine Command System Next Generation (SMCS NG) on HM Submarines Triumph and Tireless marked the early completion of the program, BAE Systems said Wednesday.
“This is a fantastic achievement Capt. Pat O’Neill, leader of the Ministry of Defence’s Submarine Combat System Group, said. “From speaking to operators and maintainers, I know how much they like SMCS NG. BAE Systems work is proof that we can get commercial off the shelf technology to sea quickly and support it affordably.”
The submarines are the final two of 12 to receive the updated command system.
The installation program was completed six months ahead of schedule, in large part because the BAE Systems-led team was able to reduce the time needed to make the conversion, enabling the installation to be carried out in normal alongside maintenance periods, the company said. The record was 18 days for HMS Vigilant’s conversion earlier this year.
A significant benefit from the use of commercial off the shelf technology is that over its life SMCS NG will cost 25 percent less to support than its predecessor, saving more than $34 million in the first 10 years, BAE said.
SMCS NG is designed to handle the growing volume of information available in modern nuclear submarines and to control the sophisticated underwater weapons carried now and in the future.
Its core capability is the assimilation of sensor data and the compilation and display of a real time tactical picture to the Submarine Command Team.
“SMCS NG has been a great success for BAE Systems and for the Royal Navy,” Paul Laity, director of naval program at BAE’s Integrated System Technologies, said.
“We have improved the availability and operability of a mission critical system while reducing its cost to the customer,” Laity added. “We have also proved that a system based on COTS hardware and software can deliver effective operational capability in a demanding naval environment.”