Advanced Shipboard Mission Payload Handling System

The QED team proposes an Advanced Payload Handling System (APHS) capable of semi-autonomous and/or wireless remotely controlled, omni-directionally maneuvering operations. Selected design candidates will be evaluated with respect to their ability to provide an assured capability of acquiring and lifting both palletized and uniquely shaped payloads from the confines of a standard ISO container or from Twenty Foot Equivalent (TEU) flat-racks and transferring them to the desired location aboard the LCS. The study will focus on the ability of the APHS candidate designs to maneuver precisely on deck in very tight spaces and conduct payload-handling tasks safely whilst the LCS is operating in elevated sea-state conditions. A combination of state-of-the-art engineering analysis tools will be employed to verify the structural design approach and define a safe operational envelope for the APHS under simulated ship motions. Selected APHS candidate designs will be evaluated under the Phase I program comparing their capabilities to defined criteria and metrics developed from the outline presented within this proposal. The results of the study will provide the basis for a candidate system down select and recommendations for a Phase II program to fabricate a full-scale APHS Proof-of-Concept demonstrator for simulated operational test and evaluation.