Northrop has completed assembly of engineering control system (ECS) distributed control units (DCUs) and remote terminal units (RTUs) for the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class destroyer programme ahead of schedule.
As per the contract awarded in July 2008, Northrop has produced and assembled two shipsets of 16 DCUs and 180 RTUs, each 23 weeks ahead of schedule, and delivered them to prime contractor Raytheon.
Northrop Maritime Systems vice-president William B Hannon said the ECS units would monitor and control the most comprehensive automation system in the naval fleet.
The ECS will collect all hull, mechanical and electrical (HME) signals from a range of systems such as those for fire detection and the integrated power plant.
The signals will then be distributed by the RTU to the DCU for analysis and control.
The shipsets will be installed in the first two destroyers, the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) and the USS Monsoor (DDG 1001).
