Sea Technology

NOV 2016

The industry's recognized authority for design, engineering and application of equipment and services in the global ocean community

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10 st / November 2016 www.sea-technology.com In 2015, recognizing this specialized expertise in ma- rine control systems, the Department of National De- fence approached NRC as a consultant when developing a request for proposal to upgrade the outdated autopilot system on the Royal Canadian Navy's four Victoria-class submarines. The autopilot system currently installed on this submarine fleet, first developed in the early 1980s, is becoming obsolete and spares continue to be limited, thus creating significant supportability challenges for the Navy. Headquartered in Montreal, L-3 MAPPS, a leading glob- al supplier of control and simulation solutions for the ma- rine, power generation and space sectors, was awarded the contract through a competitive process to build the new autopilot system for Canada's submarine fleet. L-3 MAPPS soon began the design process, which con- sisted of two major systems. The first was a complete re- placement of the hardware associated with the autopilot. This included the one-man console, the computers, com- A dvances in marine technology have transformed the way we travel through the world's waterways. With an estimated one-fifth of the world's undiscovered oil and gas, the offshore areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic have become a focal point for exploration activities. The Na- tional Research Council of Canada (NRC) identified this opportunity and the need for a focused program to support industry. National Research Council experts assist industry and other government departments to develop solutions to en- gineering challenges within ocean, coastal and river en- vironments with a particular focus on harsh and extreme conditions. NRC hosts the Marine Vehicles program to ad- dress the priority challenges of Canadian marine transpor- tation, frontier oil and gas, shipbuilding and ship design. The program helps deliver technologies that improve the operability of marine vehicles while lowering the risks and costs associated with their operation. Autopilot System for Canadian Sub Fleet Government, Industry Partner to Develop, Test Upgrade to Submarines By Dr. Xavier Cyril • David Millan • Patrick Larose Building the model of the Victoria-class sub- marine in NRC's machine shop in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

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