Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington announced a $17 million contract to DRS Laurel Technologies this week for the Common Processing System (CPS) Technology Insertion 16 production. CPS is a shock-resistant open-architecture computing system for Navy cruisers, destroyers, and other programs.
CPS provides computer processing and memory, data storage and extraction, and I/O interfaces to support host software applications of Navy combat systems aboard Navy surface warships. CPS computers will support Aegis new-ship construction, Ship Self Defense System, Aircraft Carrier Tactical Support Center, and the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP).
The CPS, designed by Global Technical Systems (GTS) in Virginia Beach, Va., provides a common computing infrastructure for ship combat systems.
GTS engineers designed the CPS using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software such as BladeCenter technology that supplies common infrastructure for processing and network fabric. Plug-in components are accessible, hot-swappable, and battle-ready protected by the GTS Advanced COTS Enclosure (ACE).
Related: GTS to provide air- and water-cooled shipboard computers for Navy cruisers and destroyers
The CPS consists of the CPS enclosure assembly and three subsystems: the processing subsystem, the storage/extraction subsystem, and the I/O subsystem. The processing subsystem provides the computing resources to execute navy combat system application programs on Navy surface ships.
The storage/extraction subsystem provides the mass storage resources required for operating system image storage, program storage, data extraction, and database management. And the I/O subsystem provides the resources required to interface the processing and storage hardware to various external elements.
The overall system is designed with a shock-isolating enclosure that protects unhardened COTS components from the intense shock and vibration that can occur on Navy surface ships -- including hits from missiles and torpedoes. The CPS comes in air- and water-cooled versions.
The contract to DRS Laurel Technologies has options that could increase its value to as much as $474 million. The company will do the work in Johnstown, Pa., and will be finished by July 2016.
For more information contact DRS Laurel Technologies online at www.drs.com/locations/drs-laurel-technologies-johnstown-pa, or Naval Sea Systems Command at www.navsea.navy.mil.
