A photonics mast (or '' optronics mast''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Scotland,
A vision of evolving technologies
' 30 August 2007, 13:06 GMT) is a sensor on a submarine which functions similarly to a

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

without requiring a periscope tube, thus freeing design space during construction and limiting risks of water leakage in the event of damage. A photonics mast replaces the mechanical, line-of-sight viewing system with digital equipment, similar to a

digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...

array, and it has fewer locational and dimensional constraints than a traditional periscope. Unlike a periscope, it need not be located directly above its user, and it requires only a small

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

penetration for cabling. This allows the photonics mast to fit entirely within the sail of the submarine and means the control room need not be placed directly below the sail. A photonics mast operates by rising above the water in a manner similar to a telescoping antenna and provides information through an array of sensors, such as high-definition low-light and

thermographic Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared ...

cameras. Images and information can appear on display panels for analysis. The photonics mast can also support the

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

, and communications functions of a conventional optical-periscope mast.

Photonics masts by country

Chinese Navy

At least the Type 039B/C submarines are fitted with photonics masts.

French Navy

The

Marine Nationale The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

's new nuclear attack submarines, the ''Suffren'' class, comes with an optronics mast with the following sensors: * High resolution day camera * 3rd generation

MWIR Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

camera in 3-5 µm band * Low light level camera (LLLTV) for night use in the visible spectrum with anti-glare system * Laser rangefinder The mast is manufactured by Sagem (now Safran). The same mast can be found on the export oriented conventional attack submarines made by

Naval Group Naval Group is a major French industrial group specialized in naval defense design, development and construction. Its headquarters are located in Paris. Heir to the French naval dockyards initiated in 1631 by Cardinal Richelieu and to the Direc ...

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

The Sōryū-class submarine is equipped with the CM010 optronics mast.

Royal Navy

The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

tested an optronic mast on the in 1998. nuclear attack submarines are equipped with two

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded ...

CM010 optronics mast similar in capabilities to the Sagem model in French use.

Russian Navy

The Yasen and

Borei-class submarine The Borei class, alternate transliteration Borey, Russian designation Project 955 ''Borei'' and Project 955A ''Borei-A'' (russian: Борей, , Boreas, NATO reporting name Dolgorukiy), are a series of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submari ...

s are fitted with photonics masts developed by

Shvabe Shvabe Holding (russian: Швабе) is a holding company within the Russian state-owned Rostec group responsible for development and production of high-tech optical-electronic systems both for military and civil purposes, manufacturing of optical ...

, a subsidiary of Rostec. The Elektropribor Central Research Institute has also developed the ''Parus-98'' photonics mast for the conventional

Lada-class submarine Lada class, Russian designation Project 677 ''Lada'' (russian: Лада, meaning " Lada", NATO reporting name St. Petersburg) is the new advanced class of diesel-electric attack submarine designed by the Russian Rubin Design Bureau. A program t ...

s and the export market (''Parus-98E'').

United States Navy

In 2004, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

began fitting photonics masts to s.How Photonics Masts Will Work
According to the US Navy:

In ''Virginia''-class boats, traditional periscopes have been supplanted by two Photonics Masts that house color, high-resolution black and white, and infrared digital cameras atop telescoping arms. With the removal of the barrel periscopes, the ships’
control room A control room or operations room is a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. It is often part of a larger command center. Overview A control room's purpose is produc ...
has been moved down one deck and away from the hull’s curvature, affording it more room and an improved layout that provides the commanding officer with enhanced
situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...
.

References

External links

US Navy Fact Sheet, Attack Submarines
- from

HowStuffWorks HowStuffWorks is an American commercial infotainment website founded by professor and author Marshall Brain, to provide its target audience an insight into the way many things work. The site uses various media to explain complex concepts, termin ...

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