Raytheon Australia develops HMI for US submarines

Human Machine Interface (HMI) software developed by Raytheon Australia has been incorporated into the latest versions of the US Navy's Command and Control System Mk 2 (CCS2) for the US Navy's Los Angeles-class and Virginia class submarines.

The HMI software was developed by Raytheon at its HMI & Risk Reduction Laboratory (HMIRRL) in North Ryde, NSW, as part of its bid to supply the replacement combat system for the RAN's Collins-class submarines. Raytheon's proposal, in partnership with Thomson Marconi Sonar, is based on a derivative of the CCS2.

Raytheon's Naval & Maritime Integrated Systems (N&MIS) division has developed a variant of the CCS2 tailored for the smaller crew of the Collins-class boats and to match the RAN's concept of operations for diesel-electric submarines. To identify and mitigate any technical risks associated with the CCS2 proposal, Raytheon established the HMIRRL so that specialists from NMIS, Raytheon Australia and Thomson Marconi Sonar could develop the new HMI, a development task it was able to complete in six weeks.

A demonstration of the HMI software to a visiting US Navy team late last year resulted in the new software being specified for new variants of CCS2 for the US Navy; the HMI software has been installed aboard three US Navy submarines already, the company says.