The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) to supply Scalable Integrated Bridge Systems (SCIBS) for installation on 16 surface combatant ships.

The contract, valued at $3.7 million, was awarded to Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit. Under the contract, the SCIBS packages, running on Sperry Marine’s Voyage Management System (VMS) software, will be back-fitted on 10 guided-missile destroyers, three amphibious ships and three aircraft carriers.

The SCIBS with VMS combines inputs from multiple navigation sensors for presentation on an integrated display, showing the ship’s position, movement and intended route in real time on a digital nautical chart. This enhances safety at sea by improving situational awareness for bridge watchstanders and liberating the ship’s navigators from the tedious and time-consuming chores of plotting on paper charts.

The VMS is the only ship navigation system approved by the Chief of Naval Operations to meet the U.S. Navy’s specifications for Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems, Navy (ECDIS-N). The SCIBS package was designed to facilitate cost-effective retrofit of the VMS-based ECDIS-N technology on existing ships with a minimum of disruption.

“This contract represents a major step forward in the U.S. Navy’s plans to convert the entire surface and submarine fleet to ECDIS-N as the primary means of navigation over the next few years,” said J. Nolasco DaCunha, vice president of Sperry Marine. “Our VMS Integrated Bridge Systems are currently installed on or under contract for more than 150 U.S. Navy ships.”

DaCunha also noted that Sperry Marine has supplied similar VMS-based integrated navigation systems for hundreds of commercial vessels worldwide, including
tankers, container ships, bulk carriers and passenger cruise ships. The commercial VMS packages have been type approved by national maritime authorities and classification societies to meet International Maritime Organization performance standards for safe navigation.

Sperry Marine, headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., and with major engineering and support offices in New Malden, United Kingdom and Hamburg, Germany, provides smart navigation and ship control solutions for the international marine industry with customer service and support through offices in 16 countries, sales representatives in 47 countries and authorized service depots in more than 250 locations worldwide.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.

For commercial sales inquiries, contact Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine by phone, +1 (434) 974-2656 or by e-mail, sales_commercial@sperry.ngc.com. For military sales inquiries, call +1 (434) 974-2134 or e-mail sales_military@sperry.ngc.com. Visit our Web site at www.sperrymarine.northropgrumman.com.