SOFTWARE INDUSTRY NEWS

BAE Systems to develop next-gen warships and a hydrogen fuel cell bus
26 March 2010 , Written by Dhruv Tanwar
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BAE Systems, the defense, security and aerospace systems company has been awarded a four-year £127 million contract by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) to develop a new generation of combat ships for the Royal Navy. The company will also develop a zero-emissions bus for a Southern California regional transit agency under a project that will demonstrate the commercial feasibility of fuel cell technology.

Type 26 frigate for the Royal Navy
In a statement BAE Systems said that it has been awarded a four year £127 million contract by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) to take forward the program to develop a new generation of combat ships for the Royal Navy. The announcement comes as the Royal Navy revealed that the first ships to be developed under the Future Surface Combatant program will be known as the Type 26 class, designed to replace the existing Type 22 and Type 23 frigates. The Type 26 will deliver a versatile, affordable capability that can be easily upgraded to ensure it remains at the cutting-edge throughout its service life. First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope said: "These program announcements are welcome news for the Navy. You simply cannot have an effective Navy without capable Frigates, and the Type 26 combat ship will form the future backbone of the Royal Navy’s surface combatant force, alongside the new Type 45 Destroyers.  These ships will be highly versatile, able to operate across the full spectrum of operations, from war fighting to disaster relief.”

BAE_SYSTEMS Under the contract, BAE Systems will work in a joint team with the MOD to assess options from the initial concept design in order to develop a detailed specification ready for manufacture. An 80 strong joint MOD and BAE Systems team has been established out of Bristol, which will ramp up to 300 over the next four years, bringing together expertise in all aspects of warship engineering to complete the assessment phase. The team will evaluate the main options including capability, operational availability of the ships, exportability features and support optimization. The first of the new class is due to enter service around the start of the next decade and by the 2030s around half of front line Royal Navy personnel are expected to operate on a either a Type 26 or the second variant to be developed under this program.

Hydrogen fuel cell bus for SunLine Transit

In a separate statement, BAE Systems said that it plans to develop a zero-emissions bus for a Southern California regional transit agency under a project to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of fuel cell technology. Under a planned work effort, BAE Systems will serve as systems integrator to deliver the vehicle to SunLine Transit in an effort funded by the Federal Transit Administration, CALSTART, California Air Resource Board, and California South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The fuel cell bus will not use any fossil fuel, and will demonstrate technology that can reduce dependence on diesel fuel and compressed natural gas. It is scheduled for delivery in December 2011. The bus developed under the program will use a fuel cell module supplied by Ballard Power Systems as the main power plant, combined with BAE Systems propulsion and power management systems to propel a 40-foot transit bus. It will help form the basis for a clean, commercially viable hydrogen-powered transit bus that eliminates fossil fuel-consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions.

The new vehicle is based on BAE Systems' HybriDrive propulsion system, used by transit agencies across the US, Canada and the UK. The demonstration vehicle will use an advanced lithium-ion-based energy storage system that increases battery life and substantially reduces vehicle weight. The battery system, which will augment the fuel cell, is self-monitoring for easy service and reduced maintenance costs. BAE Systems is producer of efficient, low-emission hybrid electric propulsion systems for transit buses. The HybriDrive propulsion technology has been in daily revenue service on buses in New York and other cities since 1998, with over 2,500 buses using the technology to ferry over a million passengers everyday. To date, BAE Systems says that these buses have traveled more than 150 million miles, saved 10 million gallons of diesel fuel, and prevented more than 100,000 tons of carbon emissions.
 

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