Royal Canadian Navy selects EMS Weapon Alignment System incorporating Sherborne Sensors DSIC

Static alignment of weapons platforms is of critical importance to achieving accuracy. A warship''s structure will bend and flex over the course of its lifetime. Exposure to rough seas, variations in temperature, and changes in loading cause a changing stress on the frame. Refits and accidents cause more permanent changes to the structure. Sherborne Sensors'' DSIC inclinometers measure tilt errors between the rotational axes of different weapons components to better than 1/600th of a degree (0.1 arc minutes). By measuring these tiny tilt differences between different components over a period of several seconds, the Fire Control System can then be programmed to correct for them. This improves gun fire control and increases the accuracy of naval weapons.

“Slight changes to the structure mean a ship''s weapons platforms no longer rotate on parallel axes and the slightest deviation impacts on the accuracy of weapons system,” says Jon May, Technical Director, Electronic Measurements Systems. “We developed our Weapon Alignment System to measure the tilts between platforms on floating vessels. We selected the DSIC from Sherborne Sensors for its ability to provide high precision measurements via a digital output. Sherborne''s proactive attitude in customising the standard device to meet the specific demands of our technology was also a key selection factor.”

Selection of the EMS CETAMS system by the Royal Canadian Navy adds a further endorsement to the DSIC. Raytheon Australia selected a CETAMS system using the DSIC earlier this year for alignment use on the Royal Australian Navy''s prestige air warfare destroyer (AWD) programme.