Lockheed Martin recently supported a request from the U.S. Navy to rapidly outfit a Gyrocam first-generation Vehicle Optical Sensor System (VOSS I) on USNS Grapple (T-ARS-53), a rescue and salvage ship supporting NATO security missions in the Aegean Sea.
The VOSS I features commercial off-the-shelf components, high-resolution color and infrared sensors, night vision and laser rangefinder capabilities in a 15-inch/38-cm turret. Working together, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin quickly identified a VOSS I from the U.S. Government’s existing inventory and completed the installation on USNS Grapple (T-ARS-53) within two weeks.
«To support NATO’s security mission quickly, the U.S. Navy needed long-range detection and identification capabilities to identify ships and small water craft», said Paul Lemmo, vice president of Fire Control/ Special Operations Forces Contractor Logistics Support Services (SOF CLSS) at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. «Because of its proven performance in theater, durability and universal mount design, VOSS I was the ideal solution to delivering the U.S. Navy a quick reaction capability».
VOSS I is designed with solid, weather-tight construction and universal mounts that allow it to easily move from a ground vehicle to a maritime vessel. Combat-proven in extreme environments (camera systems uphold full functionality in temperatures from -25° to +135° Fahrenheit/-32° to +57° Celsius; they also operate smoothly despite harsh environmental stresses of sand, dust, mud, rain, snow and fog), more than 1,100 VOSS systems have been deployed with the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, NATO and law enforcement agencies across multiple platforms.
