AN/BPS-15(H) Submarine Navigation Radar

The AN/BPS-15 is carried on the Ohio-class submarines. The Navy has been procuring the AN/BPS-15H, a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) variant of the AN/BPS-15 radar navigation set, and its associated mast assembly for installation on new construction submarines and for backfit on SSN-688 class submarines.

Procurement of the COTS variant has produced a substantial cost savings over a comparable system built to military specifications, has enhanced operational performance, and has improved navigational safety. The Navy established a new specification to eliminate the manpower intensive requirement for paper navigation charts on ships.

Instead of paper charts, all ships will have the Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS-N). ECDIS-N requires an upgrade to navigation radar systems. The AN/BPS-15(H) Submarine Navigation Radar is being made compliant with the Navy's new Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS N) requirement. ECDIS N compliance mandates the elimination of paper navigation charts on submarines by upgrading their radar navigation systems with computer-based charts designed to international commercial-off-the-shelf standards.