HAVANT, UK June 17 2008

HMS Torbay has become the first Royal Navy submarine cleared to navigate digitally using Lockheed Martin UK – Integrated System’s Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System (WECDIS).

The nuclear-powered Trafalgar-class boat was accredited for digital navigation after a series of tests conducted by the Maritime Commissioning Trials and Assessment organisation and Flag Officer Sea Training (Submarines).

“Although WECDIS has been fitted to 50 Royal Navy ships, this is the first time a UK submarine has been able to replace its charts, pencils and dividers with this purpose-developed system,” said Lockheed Martin UK’s Felix Klauser. “The submarine variant of WECDIS has been designed to ensure accurate dived navigation, improved safety and enhanced situational awareness and polar navigation for operations under the Arctic Circle.”

The £45 million programme will see WECDIS fitted to the majority of Royal Navy ships and to another 10 submarines over the next two years.

HMS Torbay’s Commanding Officer, Commander Chris Goodsell said: “WECDIS has created a very favourable first impression and makes a significant contribution to tactical picture compilation.”

WECDIS works with new and legacy on-board equipment to provide a precise electronic picture which greatly improves a commander’s situational and tactical awareness. It can provide automatic alarms and detailed information of special areas of interest and has led to a reduction in workload for surface ship navigating teams of some 70 per cent. On HMS Torbay WECDIS works with GPS and inertial navigation systems, radar and the existing command system and is expected to bring the same workload benefits to her crew.

As well as 50 ships and one submarine, the WECDIS system has been installed in the Royal Navy's five shore integration facilities and the maritime warfare schools at HMS Collingwood and HMS Raleigh.

Lockheed Martin UK’s partners in the WECDIS programme are Offshore Systems International of Vancouver, Kelvin Hughes, Babcock Design and Technology and QinetiQ.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
Lockheed Martin UK, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is a leader in systems integration working on major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence and civil sectors. Lockheed Martin works with more than 100 business partners and employs over 1700 people at more than a dozen sites across the UK.