Virtual Laboratory on Ship Demonstrates the Capabilities of Virtualized Systems at Sea

WASHINGTON —
Sailors aboard Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82), in
partnership with Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS) 5.0,
Undersea Systems, successfully tested the Virtual Laboratory on Ship (VLOS), a
virtualized Undersea Warfare Combat System (AN/SQQ-89 A(V)15), during a recent
weeklong underway period, the PEO announced in a June 26 release. VLOS
represents another important step forward in the U.S. Navy’s efforts to speed
combat system element development and software upgrades. 

During the
past year, IWS 5.0 developed VLOS in close collaboration with Applied Research
Laboratory – University of Texas (ARL-UT) and Naval Undersea Warfare Center
(NUWC) Division Newport to meet the Department of the Navy’s demand to speed
the development of cutting-edge weapon systems with industry’s advancements in
software virtualization and virtual machine applications. VLOS is a virtualized
sonar sensor subset of the tactical AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 system and operates
alongside the ship’s AN/SQQ-89 system via passive receipt of acoustic and
navigation data from the tactical system. For rapid installation and removal
purposes, VLOS is packaged and installed as a roll-on/roll-off temporary change
to the ship it is installed aboard and incorporates the Naval Sea Systems
Command flexible technology demonstration processes.

The VLOS was
installed on board USS Lassen alongside the existing AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 tactical
system to evaluate new advanced sensor capabilities in an operationally
relevant environment against live submarine targets and weapons. During the
weeklong underway period, PEO IWS 5.0, ARL-UT and NUWC engineers demonstrated
the ability to transmit a software fix from a shore site to a ship at sea using
VLOS.  The successful transmission of
software supports the Navy’s initiatives to speed the delivery of new software
capabilities to combat systems at sea via the existing networks ships use to
send and receive data. 

Additionally,
VLOS operated the latest Advanced Capability Build (ACB) software, ACB 15,
while the ship’s AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 system operated its older certified software
build, ACB 9. The ship’s Sailors performed the undersea warfare exercise with
ACB 9 while the VLOS engineers were utilizing ACB 15, which allowed Sailors to
see what additional combat capability exists within ACB 15 while performing
high-end undersea warfare events.

“This
progression of virtualizing the SQQ-89 system represents the team’s efforts to
rapidly plan and execute demonstrations to take advantage of existing industry
technology and align it with Navy technology,” said PEO IWS 5.0 Major Program
Manager Capt. Jill Cesari. “These efforts will make a real difference in our
ability to deliver more capability faster.”

In 2018, PEO
IWS 5.0 tested VLOS on USS Nitze (DDG 94). During the Nitze trials, VLOS was
tested pier side and at sea over a two-week period. The test results
demonstrated satisfactory performance of a virtualized version of the tactical
AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 advanced capability build software, operating in a relevant
at-sea environment, and supported the decision to proceed with the most recent
underway period on USS Lassen.

The VLOS test
results will be used to evaluate advanced AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 sensor capabilities
prior to fielding, demonstrate the feasibility of transmitting large and
complex software upgrades and fixes for ships at sea, and support future
efforts to virtualize the tactical AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 system. Additionally, VLOS
efforts have assisted the progression of virtualized training systems at the
Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center in San Diego, where the majority
of training occurs for shipboard officers and Sailors operating and maintaining
the AN/SQQ-89(A)V15 sonar suite.