NAVSEA gives LM $128M to add COTS Signal Processing to Sub Sonars

COTS Signal Processing Improves Performance

Four Phases of ARCI

Defense.gov Contracts for Monday, November 24, 2014

Lockheed Martin Corp., Mission Systems and Training, Manassas, Virginia, is being awarded a $127,749,917 modification to exercise options under a  previously awarded contract (N00024-11-C-6294) for fiscal 2015 acoustic rapid commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) insertion (A-RCI) system  engineering and technical support. The contract provides funding for the development and production of the A-RCI and common acoustics processing for Technology Insertion 12 (TI12) through Technology Insertion 14 (TI14) for the U.S. submarine fleet and for foreign military sales. A-RCI is a sonar system that integrates and improves towed array, hull  array, sphere array, and other ship sensor processing, through rapid  insertion of COTS-based hardware and software.

Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (95 percent), and Syracuse, New York (5 percent),  and is expected to be completed by December 2015. Fiscal 2015 research,  development, test and evaluation, and fiscal 2011, 2012 and 2013 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) contract funds, in the amount of  $14,646,476 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at  the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command,  Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting  activity.

BQQ-10 A-RCI Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion

Acoustic Rapid Commercial Off-The-Shelf Insertion (A-RCI), designated AN/BQQ-10, is a four-phase program for transforming existing submarine sonar systems (AN/BSY-1, AN/BQQ-5, and AN/BQQ-6) from legacy systems to a more capable and flexible COTS/Open System Architecture (OSA) and also provide the submarine force with a common sonar system. A single A-RCI Multi-Purpose Processor (MPP) has as much computing power as the entire Los Angeles (SSN-688/688I) submarine fleet combined and will allow the development and use of complex algorithms previously beyond the reach of legacy processors [Sperry Unisys AN/UYK-7]. The use of  COTS/OSA technologies and systems will enable rapid periodic updates to both
software and hardware. COTS-based processors will allow computer power growth at a rate commensurate with the commercial industry.


The Acoustic Rapid Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Insertion (A-RCI)  AN/BQQ-10(V) Sonar System was initiated as Engineering Change 1000 to the AN/BSY-1 Combat System on improved Los Angeles class submarines. The concept uses installed legacy sensors and replaces central processors with COTS personal computer technology and software installed in an open architecture. A-RCI allows for faster, more economical, and more frequent hardware and/or software upgrades. The
program expanded to provide improvements that could be back-fit into all nuclear attack (SSN) and ballistic missile (SSBN) submarines totaling over 60 ship sets. The system is now known formally as the AN/BQQ-10 (V) Sonar.


These improvementsprovide expanded capabilities, particularly in littoral waters, for
covert intelligence collection and surveillance and covert insertion and support of Special Forces. Expanded capabilities for anti-submarine warfare focused on diesel-electric submarines, covert mining, and covert strike of targets ashore. Specific software improvements include passive ranging, spatial vernier processing, full spectrum processing, dual towed array concurrent processing, low frequency active interference rejection, passive broadband, passive narrowband and passive detection and tracking processing, track management, on-board training, and port/starboard ambiguity resolution.

The HOW and WHY of OPEN ARCHITECTURE by Capt. Jim Stevens

In the 1980s-90s, the front-line sonar system of the Submarine Force was the BQQ-5, its processing power in the Sperry/UNIVAC UYK-7 processor. The UYK-7 was the standard shipboard computer, designed in accordance with stringent military specifications for performance and ruggedness for use throughout the Navy. Configuration control was the primary goal, and we weapons officers and sonar men were proud of the racks of UYK-7’s in our sonar equipment space. Yet, these UYK-7s rapidly approached obsolescence. Indeed they were obsolete by the time we got them in the fleet.

The software we ran on the BQQ-5 was proprietary to the contractor, with only minor corrective fixes possible until the next major sonar system update. This “closed architecture/closed business model” system, with software tied to the hardware, was the
business model then, and still is today in many defense systems.

ARCI has been a success story at the Department of Defense level for delivering real capability to the war fighters in record time. It is not without its critics, especially those wedded to the classic defense procurement model. However, we could not afford to
have done otherwise, either fiscally or operationally. Congress has recognized this: Senate Armed Service Committee Report 110-77 notes that “the Navy’s success in building a future force of 313 ships, and with that, the Navy’s ability to meet its long-range war fighting requirements, is directly linked to its success in implementing open architecture.”You at the waterfront have an input into the ARCI development process, and your voice is heard. Feed your inputs to your squadron, who will relay it to CSDS-12 or your TYCOM N7 and the Submarine Tactical Requirements Group. We are keenly interested in your input!

 Commander’s Guidance for the United States Submarine Force and Supporting Undersea Forces

The Impact of Software Reuse on the Cost of Navy Sonar and Fire Control Systems

by AM Wilson - ‎2009 - ‎Related articles

One of the critical aspects in the design and sustainment of new and replacement Navy combat systems is the development of software to run the systems in a manner that maximizes their benefit to national security. This research examines the Navy’s acquisition of anti-submarine warfare sonar and fire control software to determine if software reuse has been effective in lowering costs. The potential for cost avoidance exists due to the commonality of the anti-submarine warfare mission across the surface, air, surveillance, and submarine communities. The three categories of costs chosen for analysis are maintenance; training; and research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). Analysis focuses on the identification of trends associated with each of the costs for selected systems and programs. Identifying trends in funding could provide evidence of the cost-effectiveness of software reuse efforts within and across the surface, air, surveillance, and submarine communities.