General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General
Dynamics, has successfully completed the comprehensive risk reduction
program for the U.S. Navy's Knifefish Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned
Undersea Vehicle (UUV) program. Designed to discover any potential systems
defect early on in the program's development phase, the configuration
item test (CIT) successfully verified key components within the UUV
system including the hardware architecture and critical areas of hardware
and software integration.
"The completion of this significant milestone is a great achievement
for our Knifefish team," said Thomas Kirchmaier, president of General
Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. "As an essential component
of the Navy's surface-ship mine countermeasure mission packages, Knifefish
will help meet the constantly-evolving requirements of today's fleet
and greatly reduce risk to Navy personnel and ships." |
The test
program included subsystem tests of key payload components (high-fidelity
SONAR and ultra-high-density data storage/recording), key propulsion
components (quieter, more powerful propulsion) and key software interface
elements. By performing the CIT effort at this phase of the Knifefish
program, the team can identify critical elements that could be detrimental
to the delivery and operational availability of the Knifefish program
if left to the later program phases.
"Overcoming unique size, weight and power challenges are keystones
to the successful deployment of the Navy's Knifefish program,"
said Tom Mason, senior program manager of General Dynamics Advanced
Information Systems. "Completing these early discovery programs
is critical for meeting the program's schedule and cost requirements."
Knifefish will be a critical part of the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship
mine warfare mission package, providing the fleet mine warfare commander
and sailors with enhanced mine-hunting capabilities. Scheduled for operations
beginning in 2017, Knifefish will reduce risk to personnel by operating
in the minefield as an off-board sensor while the host ship stays outside
the minefield boundaries. The Knifefish system will include two UUVs,
in addition to launch and recovery equipment, a support container, spare
parts and support equipment.
The U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) awarded General Dynamics
Advanced Information Systems a contract to design and build Knifefish
in September 2011. The General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
team on the Knifefish program includes Bluefin Robotics (Quincy, Mass.),
Ultra Electronic Ocean Systems (Braintree, Mass.), Oceaneering International,
Inc. (Houston, Texas), Metron (Reston, Va.), Applied Research Laboratory
at Penn State University (State College, Pa.), 3 Phoenix (Hanover, Md.),
General Dynamics Information Technology (Fairfax, Va.) and ASRC Research
Technology Solutions (Greenbelt, Md.). |
