Lockheed Martin UK has completed the installation of its Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System (WECDIS) on board HMS Protector, the Royal Navy’s new Antarctic ice patrol vessel.
Following installation, HMS Protector conducted and passed her WECDIS digital accreditation process, enabling her to undertake Antarctic patrol operational commitments with the Royal Navy.
This is the first time Lockheed Martin UK has fitted an Antarctic ice patrol vessel with this new advanced hardware and software system. WECDIS provides ships’ navigation teams with an integrated electronic navigation picture, greatly reducing navigator workload and increasing situational and tactical awareness for the ship’s crew.
The additional value of electronic charting systems in polar circles is that they remain fully functional in such regions, allowing Royal Navy ships and submarines to safely navigate in the high latitudes of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Lockheed Martin has fitted more than 90 ships and submarines from the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary with WECDIS hardware and software, enabling ships’ navigation teams to replace paper charts. The WECDIS-equipped fleet now includes surface ships from small patrol craft to aircraft carriers and submarines such as the Trafalgar and Vanguard Class.
Lockheed Martin UK, part of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is a leader in systems integration, working on major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence and civil sectors. Lockheed Martin UK works with more than 100 business partners and employs over 1,500 people at sites across the UK.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 126,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.
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World Maritime News Staff, January 4, 2012