By
Graham Davis
Sailors
deployed on 15 of the RAN’s principal ships will be able to communicate
with their families more often under a $45 million upgrade to
the Navy’s shipborne information systems.
The Government has approved the upgrade and formally announced
it on May 4. The upgrade will enhance the Navy’s network centric
warfare capability.
CDRE Peter Jones said the money would be spent upgrading the information
technology systems of four FFGs, the eight Anzacs, LPAs Kanimbla
and Manoora and the fleet oiler Success.
“This will allow deployed ships to establish computer-based wide
area networks at sea allowing Navy to rapidly move information
around its fleets at sea and communicate with headquarters and
allies,” CDRE Jones said.
“The ADF’s ability to successfully conduct maritime operations
is highly dependent on the exchange of operational information
between ships and between ships and aircraft and land units.
“This new project will significantly increase the ability of Navy
ships to exchange and process information quickly and is a response
to the increased tempo of modern military operations,” CDRE Jones
said.
Navy ships are already being fitted with systems that will provide
ships with improved access to both satellite and modern high frequency
communications.
However, the RAN’s capacity to handle electronic information on
board ships and to rapidly transfer information between ships
of a fleet needs to be updated to match the capacity of these
modern communication systems.
CDRE Jones said the project would greatly improve the ability
of ships and shore establishments to communicate via email, a
factor that will significantly improve the quality of life for
sailors serving on board ships by enabling them to have more frequent
contact with their families.
The networking capabilities provided under the project will also
enable more effective use of command and control systems and faster
decision making by the ship’s commanders - improving both the
combat power of individual ships and the RAN as a whole.
