Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when each Type 45 Destroyer will be installed with the ECPINS-W Subs software; and what estimate he has made of the total cost of that installation.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System software is planned to be installed on the Type 45 Destroyers (T45) as the primary element of the Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System (WECDIS) navigation capability. This will enhance the Type 45’s navigation capability, which currently uses a mix of paper charts and an Electronic Charting System, commonly used on commercial shipping. The new WECDIS system will remove the need for paper charts and includes additional warfighting command and control functionality.

The programme will ensure the system and training arrangements comply with the latest international standards, which were defined after the T45 build contract was awarded.

The rollout of WECDIS on the six T45s is scheduled to take place from early 2016, subject to the ships’ operational programme, and is expected to cost £5.6 Million for all six platforms. This covers the cost of development, acceptance, testing and trials, platform rollout and user training.