36 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com
naVal
By KAtHy KeNNy y. Ngo
B
ack in February of this year,
Lockheed Martin Canada
was awarded the contract
for the design of Canada's
future warships and to pro-
vide the combat management system for
the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC.)
A naval success story for a company that
is 30 years in the making.
In 1983, Lockheed Martin Canada was
contracted as the combat system inte-
grator for the Halifax-class frigates, with
pioneering technology that would give
operators an unprecedented situational
awareness of the tactical environment
and control to maximize warfighting ef-
fectiveness. The foundation of this revo-
lutionary concept was spearheaded by Dr.
Jim Carruthers, a young naval officer.
Carruthers created a serial data bus that
connected and operated a set of nodes that
opened doors to bring multiple capabili-
ties together as one cohesive system. This
became the foundation of the system that
would place Canadian ships amongst the
best in their class at that time. This legacy
system served the RCN well for over two
decades.
In 2006, Lockheed Martin Canada, after
gaining 25 years of experience developing
combat management systems and work-
ing with the RCN's requirements, recog-
nized the legacy system would not meet
the demands of the future. Working from
"When we win, there's a whole round of our partners
and Canadian industries that win with us."
— Gary Fudge,
Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Canada.
of Marine and Defence Innovation
30 Years
Her Majesty's Canadian Ship WINNIPEG, Photo: DND
