USN begins CANES installations aboard destroyer fleet

The US Navy (USN) has begun installation of the first of 10 Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) systems planned for Fiscal Year 2013, giving destroyers much needed capabilities that include built-in information assurance.

The navy began the initial work on 17 December to replace all of the legacy hardware and cabling associated with the existing network system aboard the USS Milius (DDG 69). The installation is expected to take 18 weeks, said Captain DJ LeGoff, programme manager for the Tactical Networks Program Office, during a 21 December briefing.

Although CANES will consolidate five legacy network systems, it does not include every network on the ship. For example, machinery control networks are not included in CANES nor are the real time combat system networks, Capt LeGoff said. "Most of the other IT-like systems are encompassed in the CANES programme."

Milestone C – an initial production decision – for CANES was approved on 14 December for a limited deployment phase. In 2013 the navy will move CANES into operational testing followed by a full-rate production decision later in the year. The navy will conduct a second competition in calendar year 2014 for follow-on procurement of CANES.