Transparent Armored Windows for Ships

US Naval ships such as the LPD 17 San Antonio class vessels require transparent armored windows (TAW) in the Pilot House and several control/conflagration stations. The current TAW design used aboard these ships is more than 20 years old and it has several design flaws that adversely affect life span, mission readiness, and replacement cost.There is an expressed need in the US Navy to develop a next-generation TAW that addresses these flaws and significantly enhances readiness, increases the life span of the windows, and reduces operational and maintenance costs. Karagozian and Case (K&C) is developing concept designs to overhaul the TAW system on LPD 17 Class ships using advanced materials and processes as well as an improved mounting system. The K&C concept for a next-generation TAW adopts the use of specialty glasses in a very limited but effective manner that improves performance while avoiding production size issues and cost increases. The next-generation designs are based on mature technologies that are producible and can be transitioned to the warfighter at the end of the Phase II effort for production and full scale testing aboard a Navy ship.