Fault Tolerant Processor (FTP) Life Cycle Maintenance

The ability to provide life cycle maintenance support for the Fault Tolerant Processor (FTP) of the SEAWOLF Ship Control System (SCS) is vital to elnsure continued reliable operation and demands integration of state-of-the-art test equipment and software diagnostics. The extent of this support is restricted in scope by fiscal realities. While the FTP uses several of the most advanced electronics modules in the U. S. Navy's inventory, thus placing additional emphasis on the automatic test equipment requirements, the planned procurement of only two SEAWOLF platforms has further complicated the development of an Integrated Logistics Support plan that will support cost effective FTP module troubleshooting and repair. To fully address this problem, cost trade-off studies must be performed that evaluate the upgrade and use of existing U. S. Navy resources to meet the FTP troubleshooting and repair requirements. This effort will likely result in significant cost savings in troubleshooting and repair programs across all submarine ship control and combat control system programs.