Download - Royal Australian Navy

NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN MARCH 2003
29
Design and Concept for an
Unmanned Major Surface
Combatant
SBLT JASON NISSEN
This paper proposes a method of extending a ship’s Combat System
network, to allow its Command and Control to be conducted remotely
using a device called the ‘Remote Network Unit’. This would be
integrated with the Electronic Chart Display and Information System
(currently being fitted to all MFUs), and MCR Control to allow the ship’s
manned spaces to be controlled remotely.
The Design and Concept for an
Unmanned Major Surface
Combatant is shown to be a
technically feasible major project,
that would provide the RAN with
CONFIGURATION A
Bm, and really any
communications system that can
reliably, securely and quickly send
high bandwidth data. The RNU’s
function is to quickly and reliably
and the ship still needs to be
driven.
To make this unmanned warship
concept a reality, it will need to
CONFIGURATION B
FIGURE 1 - COMBAT SYSTEM WAN CONFIGURATIONS
an enormous force multiplier, and
also making a Flexible Manning
Policy possible.
The Remote Network Unit is
simply a network adapter with an
abundant supply of high speed
cache and modems to connect to
the COMMCEN’s matrix, Inmarsat
retransmit all combat system
network traffic to a remote
command and control system
using identical protocols to form
a seamless network.
However this is just half the
design, as the combat system
only covers the warfare aspects,
rely on the Electronic Chart
Display and Information System
(ECDIS) currently being fitted to
all RAN ships. At this point I will
briefly discuss this project still
unknown to the majority of us
wearing the white service
uniform.