The U.S. Navy's Smart Ship operating systems and applications

Navy

Operating Systems: The U.S. Navy

One recent article on the operating systems utilized by the U.S. Navy, authored by the Intergraph Solutions Group, was entitled "Rugged Hardware for Harsh Environment." What better way of phrasing the needs of this branch of the armed forces, or indeed any of the branches of the United States armed forces? The U.S. Navy sends its men into environments that are extraordinary, and place extraordinary demands on its personnel. Similarly durable operating hardware is necessary to ensure that the brave individuals who serve are able to do their duty and minimize all of the possible and very real risks to their physical persons. Computer operating systems must support, not pose additional risks, to their missions.

Operating Systems

One of these "rugged examples" is the Smart Ship concept, recently employed and adopted by the navy to increase efficiency upon ships and reduce risks to military personnel. It was also intended to cope with the reduction in military personnel, due to attrition of the volunteer forces during the 1990's. To make its ships "smart," the Navy replaced, over the course of the 1990's, obsolete ship systems with modern commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems that integrated various applications, workflows, and communications. (Intergraph, 2004)

These COTS included multipurpose workstations, consoles, and displays to Navy engineering organizations such as the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station (NAVSSES) for installation on aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, mine warfare vessels, and other ship types. Part of the Naval Surface Warfare Caderock Division (NSWCCD), NAVSSES is the Navy's in-service engineering agent for all hull, mechanical, and electrical ship systems, as well as a provider of testing and evaluation for these systems.

Conclusion/Summary

By instituting a 'smart ship' that makes use of COTS systems, the Navy is able to make use of operating systems common to the commercial world such as UNIX, Linux, Solaris, and Intel. Yet the COTS systems also has the advantage of meeting the National Electronic Manufacturer Association (NEMA) standards or MIL-S-901D Class A near explosives survivability requirements, and feature space-saving designs for maximum viewing in cramped spaces. "Rugged chassis and bodies, reinforced mounts, and polymer shocks absorb the jars, knocks, and rigors of a field environment, while an outer enclosure protects from the elements." (Interface, 2004)

However, the smart ship concept has come under a great deal of criticism, over the course of its institution. During its inception, the Navy began running shipboard applications under Microsoft Windows NT so that fewer sailors would be needed to control key ship functions. But the very information technology on which the ships depend also makes them vulnerable if the COTS technology should fail, or if bad data is fed into the computers during maneuvers without proper technical and human controls. Still, the reduction in volunteerism for the armed services necessitates continued development of the Smart Ship concept, preferably with secure yet compatible elements with commercial software. (Slabodkin, 1998)