Although the Type 18 represents the current
state-of-the-art in U.S. submarine periscopes, the
Navy’s new USS Virginia (SSN-774) class submarine
will be getting a completely new set of eyes.
Virginia’s AN/BVS-1 Photonics Mast has replaced
the traditional optical lenses and prisms of
conventional periscopes with electronic imaging
equipment. Each Virginia class submarine will have
two photonics masts that do not require physical
penetration of the ship’s hull, but instead
“telescope” out of the sail. Importantly, this allows
Virginia’s Control Room to be moved from the
cramped first deck to the more spacious second
deck. Additionally, there will be no “gray lady” to
dance with – or take up valuable control-room
space – since the customary periscope in its belowdeck
well gives way to a fiber optic system that
carries images from the photonics masts to two
workstations and a commander’s control console,
each equipped with two flat-panel displays and a
keyboard, trackball, and joystick. The masts are
equipped with three cameras – color, high-resolution
black-and-white, and infrared – in addition to a
mission-critical control camera in a separate,
pressure-proof and shock-hardened housing and a
laser range finder that will provide accurate ranges
to targets and aids to navigation. All of these
sensors are housed in the mast’s rotating head.
Capt. David Portner, the Program Manager
for the Imaging and Electronic Warfare Program
Office, notes that “the Photonics Mast is one of the
revolutionary systems aboard Virginia. Its digital
imagery design eliminates the need for a major hull
penetration required for optical periscopes. Not only
does it keep the CO from having to focus entirely
on the top-side scene, but it has allowed the ship
designers to break the hard link between the sail
and the Command and Control System Module
(CCSM). In doing so, Virginia’s sail has been moved
forward for improved hydrodynamics and its CCSM
Kollmorgen’s Photonics Mast, the next
generation in submarine optics. The infrared
camera is located in the lower rectangular
housing, while the optical cameras and laser
range finder are located directly above. To the
right is the mission critical camera, and the
mast head is topped by the antenna assembly.
“Eyes” relocated down one deck and aft, affording this
critical space more room and an improved layout.
The non-penetrating design also increases hull
integrity and simplifies maintenance.”
In a hundred years, submarines have
progressed from having to porpoise at the surface
to see outside, through crude viewing devices fixed
in height and direction, to today’s hull-penetrating,
multi-purpose, camera-equipped scopes, which
allow the boats to get a clear view of the outside
world from up to 60 feet below the surface, while
revealing almost nothing of themselves. And yet,
today’s periscopes are based on the same
fundamental principles of prisms, lenses, and
telescopes that their predecessors exploited a
century ago. But radical change is on the way. With
the first of the new Virginia class submarines
already in the water, the submarine’s capability for
viewing the world above the surface is taking off in
the first fundamentally new direction since the days
of John Holland and Simon Lake.
Концентрированный перевод:
Новая мачта называется AN/BVS-1, у Вирджинии две таких мачты. Она позваляет следить за поверхностью с глубины 60 футов. Также она позволила перенести ЦП с первой палубы на вторую, где больше места, и "подвинуть" ограждение рубки ближе к носу, что улучшило гидродинамические свойства. Изображение транслируется на три дисплея (один из которых командирский).
Описание на картинке: Photonics(? не знаю как перевести) мачта Коллморген, следущее поколение в оптике ПЛ. Инфракрасная камера расположена в нижнем прямоугольном гнезде, оптические камеры и лазерный дальномер находятся прямо над ней (ИК камерой). Справа находится главная камера, наверху антенна.
040825-N-2653P-040 Atlantic Ocean (Aug. 25, 2004) – Sonar Officer, Lt. j.g. Andrew Waldman, utilizes the infra-red function on the photonics display aboard the attack submarine PCU Virginia (SSN 774). Virginia is the Navy’s only major combatant ready to join the fleet that was designed with the post-Cold War security environment in mind and embodies the war fighting and operational capabilities required to dominate the littorals while maintaining undersea dominance in the open ocean. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 1st Class James Pinsky (RELEASED)
030811-N-5539C-001 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Aug. 11, 2003) -- Actress Debbe Dunning, “Heidi” from the sitcom "Home Improvement", signals that she understands the "silent service" after peeking through the periscope during a tour aboard USS Key West (SSN 722). U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 3rd Class Corwin M. Colbert. (RELEASED)
