U.S. Navy goes paperless

The U.S. Navy unveiled plans for a major transformation in military marine navigation over the next few years, in which traditional paper nautical charts will be replaced with advanced, interactive, electronic navigation systems throughout the fleet.

The Navy’s plans were presented at a media briefing and demonstration cruise in Washington, D.C., hosted by Northrop Grumman Corporation, which developed the new-generation shipboard navigation equipment for the Navy. The Electronic Chart Display and Information System ? Navy (ECDIS-N) is based on the Voyage Management System software programs developed by Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit, and operates with Digital Nautical Charts(c), a global database of digital charts produced by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The Navy has launched an ambitious initiative to equip the entire fleet of surface ships and submarines with ECDIS-N by the end of 2009. Once the ships complete their certification process with the new equipment, they would no longer rely on traditional paper nautical charts and manual plotting of a ship’s position. In May, the Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George (CG 71) became the first ship to be authorized to navigate with ECDIS-N, following an extensive certification process to ensure it met the Navy’s requirements for safe navigation. Also in May, an ECDIS-N system was approved for Los Angeles class submarines, and should be certified soon.

John DeMaso, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman’s Naval and Marine Systems Division, which includes Sperry Marine, said, “The Voyage Management System is the only system that has been certified to meet the ECDIS-N standard. Sperry Marine’s Voyage Management System-based equipment has already been installed on over 150 U.S. Navy surface ships and submarines, all of which will be upgraded to conform to ECDIS-N standards.”

DeMaso noted that similar technology is also used on commercial ships, such as tankers, container ships and cruise liners. Sperry Marine’s commercial version of the Voyage Management System has been type approved by national maritime authorities and classification societies to meet the International Maritime Organization ECDIS specifications.