Case Study - Public Sector - Spanish Navy S-80 Submarine

National defense - Public Sector

Arxys Recently Completed A Multi-Year, Global Contract Supplying The Spanish Navy’s S-80 Submarine Program.

Mil-Spec Ruggedized Network Storage

Arxys (Under Its OEM Brand Cutting Edge Networked Storage) Provided A Ruggedized High-Performance Data Mass Storage Unit (DMSU) Utilizing Six, 2 Terabyte Quick Disconnect Data Modules. The DMSU Had To Pass Exhaustive Military Environmental And Operational Testing Standards Before Being Accepted By The Spanish Navy.

Challenges

Build a ruggedized Command and Control high performance server that can operate in the most extreme environments, in a Spanish Navy S-80 Submarine. They needed an extreme environment ruggedized server to control the central functions of the submarine. One of the more interesting requirements was that the DMSU had to operate flawlessly while being sprayed with a continuous stream of water (simulating an underwater hull breach).

The challenges of a Command and Control System Server were compounded by the extreme environment requirements of operating in a battle ready submarine. The solution had to be extremely ruggedized and designed to perform per numerous MIL-SPEC standards including salt-fog, shock and vibration, and acoustic operations. These requirements meant a customized rugged enclosure and unique solutions to meet the specifications under budget.

The contract was awarded in September of 2012. There were delays in the Spanish Navy’s Submarine program due to weight issues with the submarine resulting in the program lasting much longer than originally anticipated. General Dynamic’s Electric Boat division was contracted to deal with weight distribution issues in early 2013. The first submarine was found to be too heavy by 75 to 100 tons. See article for details.

Benefits

The DMSU extreme environment ruggedized server system Arxys supplied to the Spanish Navy was based on open system architecture and the use of commercial off-the-shelf elements, (COTS), minimizing life cycle costs and allowing for flexibility in future upgrades. The solution is ruggedized and designed to perform per numerous MIL-SPEC standards including salt-fog, shock and vibration, and acoustic operations. The DMSU is a ruggedized storage server enclosure that can continue to operate in some of the most extreme environments.

Additionally, the custom developed Linux-based operating system allows for handling all of the incoming sensor high data rates, while the graphical user interface simplifies system management.

“We’re proud of our solution and look forward to supporting the S-80 program for many years.”, said Deborah Inman, President, of Arxys.

Arxys’ Software Orchestrated Storage solutions scale to fit the needs of today, while scaling for the future without forklift upgrades. Arxys delivers enterprise class speed with business efficiency and warranted business continuity all at the lowest TCO in the industry. Crafting storage solutions for more than 2,000 of the most demanding organizations for more than 25 years, Arxys has specialized in providing difficult data storage solutions for homeland security and defense-related applications.

Arxys Is An Example Of Small Business Agility, Perseverance, And Innovation Proving To Be An Advantage In Winning Contracts From A Prime Defense Contractor.