Description
Organization: NAVSEA
Team Name: AN/UYQ-70(V) Advanced Display System Program Office
Related Acquisition Topic(s): Commercial and Non Developmental Items (CANDI), Direct Vendor Delivery (DVD), Financial Management, Integrated Digital Environment (IDE), Open Systems, Partnering
Description:
The AN/UYQ-70(V) Program was initiated by Congressional direction in FY93. Approval for production was granted in September 1995 after successful completion of all development and test milestones. The system is designed using industry open standards, non-developmental item (NDI) hardware and software components, and an open systems architecture (OSA) which affords modular enhancement with new technology as operational requirements warrant.
During the Engineering and Manufacturing Development Phase of the program, the Navy was successful in capitalizing on investment made by the private sector in the design and development of computer resources, resulting in a substantial reduction in Navy research and development cost and time-to-market between concept formulation and production over the case of conventional developmental item acquisitions. The AN/UYQ-70(V) also served as a proof-of-principle program for acquisition reform, with extensive reliance upon commercial item descriptions in lieu of military specifications and standards, streamlined and consolidated contract data requirements, use of tailored acquisition documentation, and support from industry in defining the original performance specification. Use of extensive commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and software products and industry standards as part of the product baseline has resulted in the accomplishment of system design, assembly and test in less than two-years, and at a fraction of the development cost of the legacy tactical embedded computers and displays.
The baseline AN/UYQ-70(V) system is built around an industry standard VME backplane, ANSI C and Ada programming languages, POSIX compliant application programming interface as part of the real-time, multithreaded operating system, ETHERNET and FDDI network interfaces, and TCP/IP transport protocols. Select Navy interfaces have been included in the design, along with the requirement for re-use of software developed for the legacy tactical embedded displays for a full display emulation capability. Additional functions for surface, sub-surface and airborne systems have been identified and incorporated as part of the baseline program.
One of the principal attributes of the AN/UYQ-70(V) has been the Navy's ability to "harness" commercial computer technology without the requirement for a major research and development effort. The AN/UYQ-70(V) constitutes one of the most successful "strategic partnerships" between government and industry in recent memory. The Navy has been able to significantly reduce time-to-market for the AN/UYQ-70(V) over the case for conventional government product acquisitions, moving from the "blueprint" stage to production in less than two-years. More significantly, the Navy has immediate access to commercial computer suppliers, whose products can be integrated within the AN/UYQ-70(V) architecture. Improvements in AN/UYQ-70(V) display technology are underway, with 3-D graphics and multiple imaging currently being adapted to combat system applications. Real-time access to the commercial software arena in particular affords the Navy a "force multiplier" for dramatic increases in processing speed, which translates into improved performance for all users of the AN/UYQ-70(V) over the life of the program.
From a design engineering vantage, the AN/UYQ-70(V) is comparable to conventional workstations available from the commercial marketplace. Like the modern-day workstation, the AN/UYQ-70(V) performs data and display processing functions using commercial-off-the-shelf computer resources. However, the AN/UYQ-70(V) is unique in terms of its capacity to perform "military-specific" functions, including radar and sonar processing, system monitoring and control, and local and wide area network data exchange, along with flexibility to meet tailored requirements of individual combat systems. Current configurations of the AN/UYQ-70(V) have been optimized to meet the physical, functional and human-machine-interface (HMI) requirements of each of interfacing combat system programs. Built around a core set of NDI computer resources and adherence to OSA, the AN/UYQ-70(V) is configured ranging from a robust variant for shipboard processing, to down-sized unit earmarked for shore-based applications.
The success of the Program to date can in large measure be attributed to the growth of combat systems to employ the AN/UYQ-70. Initial Congressional direction to implement the AN/UYQ-70(V) in the Theater Air Defense and AEGIS combat systems has been complemented with "volunteer subscribers", including the AN/SQQ-89 Surface Ship ASW System E2C Surveillance Aircraft, NSSN New Attack Submarine, and C2P Command and Control System, to mention a representative sample. Additionally, the Navy has received numerous queries from foreign governments for potential international sale of the AN/UYQ-70(V). It is estimated that by early 21st Century, aggregate production of AN/UYQ-70(V) systems for U.S. Navy and international use will exceed 2,500 systems.
The AN/UYQ-70(V) has received a positive "sea trial" response from the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) Experiment. Both the ANZIO and CAPE ST. GEORGE have indicated a favorable rating for the AN/UYQ-70(V) over the OJ-471/452 ASW Consoles. In a message from COMCRUDESGRU EIGHT, the AN/UYQ-70(V) was recognized for its superior performance, with "the color displays, overlays, and combined CEC-CND track fusion and variable range scale adjustment making these console invaluable for maintaining situational awareness and responding rapidly to dynamic tactical situations".
Fielded at a fraction of the cost of the legacy MILSPEC Tactical Embedded Displays, the AN/UYQ-70(V) constitutes an affordable, high performance solution for advanced combat systems using a distributed architecture. The AN/UYQ-70(V) is complemented with a streamlined logistics tail, including use of integrated electronic technical manuals, just-in-time sparing, and electronic data interchange between government and industry. System enhancement to incorporate new technology is provided via the OSA, affording the AN/UYQ-70(V) a distinct advantage over the legacy displays in meeting emergent operational requirements "step-for-step" as them become identified.
