PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Navy shipboard electronics experts needed VPX embedded computing chassis for upgrading machinery control systems aboard Navy amphibious assault ships. They found a solution from PRISM Maritime LLC in Chesapeake, Va.
Officials of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division in Philadelphia announced a $9.2 million contract to PRISM Maritime last Wednesday for VPX chassis for the landing helicopter dock (LHD) and landing helicopter assault (LHA) shipboard machinery control systems technical refresh.
VPX chassis are rugged, modular enclosures for high-performance military electronics, often used in naval command and control applications like those on amphibious assault ships. VPX follows open-systems design guidelines of the VITA open-standards and open-markets industry trade association in Phoenix.
Machinery control system
The machinery control systems aboard LHD and LHA amphibious assault ships are distributed to enable control from several different stations and seamless switching between gas turbine and electric propulsion. The machine control system monitors ballasting, fuel, and damage control.
LHDs are multipurpose amphibious assault ships designed for helicopter operations and troop landings, while LHAs are similar vessels. Their machinery control systems manage propulsion, electrical systems, damage control, and auxiliaries for reliable operation during missions.
LHDs feature full-length flight decks for helicopters and other aircraft like the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor, as well as well decks for landing craft that transport U.S. Marine Corps infantry to attack beaches.
Flight decks and well decks
The amphibious assault ship's ability to accommodate flight decks and well enable vertical and horizontal assaults. These ships support as many as six simultaneous helicopter landings and can carry vehicles and cargo across several different decks. LHDs and LHAs are roughly half the size of a Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
The PRISM Maritime VPX chassis are for machine control systems aboard Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) based in San Diego, and the America-class amphibious assault ships USS America (LHA 6) based in San Diego and USS Bougainville (LHA 8) based in Norfolk, Va. The VPX chassis contract addresses hardware and software upgrades for their machinery control systems.
On this contract PRISM Maritime will do the work in Chesapeake, Va., and should be finished by May 2031. For more information contact PRISM Maritime online at https://prismmaritime.com/, or the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division at www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWC-Philadelphia.
