The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has awarded two Phase 2 contracts to Raytheon under the compact power conversion technologies (CPCT) programme.
Under the contract, the company will support development of next-generation power technology for naval systems to enable ship systems to conduct missions with improved fuel efficiency.
The CPCT programme is aimed at providing fuel economy and architectural flexibility for future naval surface ships and submarine critical mission systems.
Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems business Advanced Technology vice president Joe Biondi said there was a need to provide more efficient and capable power systems for the US Navy as it was developing the platforms and mission systems to meet future requirements of forces.
"Our continued power technology innovation supports our customers’ long-term goals and ensures warfighters can leverage the most advanced technologies possible," Biondi added.
Under the programme, the navy is developing one-year programmes for bi-directional power converters and power management controllers (BDPC) and power management controllers for naval ships and submarines.
The BDPC project is intended to develop high density and efficiency power converters enabling ship power system architectures to be more energy efficient.
Featuring interfaces with high power radar, energy storage and pulsed loads, the flexible BDPC will reduce total cost of ownership with decreased weight and volume by a factor of three with 96%-98% efficiency.
The built-in spares and redundancy of the BDPC will provide power for multiple classes of ships.
The power management controller will optimise performance across various systems for new generation of intelligent shipboard power control. It will enable ships to collectively store power for any mission.
