DCNS presents the innovative XWIND 4000 concept ship design at EURONAVAL 2014

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EURONAVAL 2014 Show Daily - DCNS
 
 
 
DCNS presents the innovative XWIND 4000 concept ship design at EURONAVAL 2014
 
At this year’s Euronaval show, DCNS is presenting XWIND 4000, a concept ship combining all of the Group’s main innovations for future naval surface systems. The uniquely designed XWIND 4000 concept ship presented by DCNS at this year’s Euronaval show features all the latest innovations being developed by the Group's R&D teams. These innovations will be available on DCNS surface ships in the short to medium term future.
     
DCNS presents the innovative XWIND 4000 concept ship design at EURONAVAL 2014 DCNS XWind 4000 showcased at EURONAVAL 2014
     
“XWIND 4000 has been designed around the concept of an ‘all-digital’ ship,” explains Marketing Manager Philippe Sathoud. “Flat-panel arrays for the combat system and other sensors are installed around the superstructure. This provides unprecedented hemispherical coverage and enables all the sensors to operate at the same time without generating interference between transmitters and receivers.
With this configuration, shipboard systems can respond dynamically to evolving threats such as terrorism, piracy or sensor saturation attacks.”

To enhance the platform’s detection, identification and engagement capabilities, surveillance UAVs or armed UAVs are part of the combat system design. These offboard systems can deploy a broad range of optronic, radar or electronic warfare payloads as well as rockets or missiles. DCNS is a pioneer in this field and the only warship designer already offering this solution. The UAVs remain under the commander’s orders at all times and are controlled from the ops room.

The XWIND 4000’s innovative all-digital design is also apparent in the intuitive human-systems interfaces for the ship's two nerve centres, touchscreens, voice commands and Kinect™ technology in the ops room, and 360° vision, augmented reality technology and user interfaces similar to smartphones on the bridge. All the digital systems run on a secure datacentre architecture hosting combat system and platform management applications in a virtual environment that allocates resources as operational requirements evolve.

     
Philippe Sathoud, marketing manager at DCNS, presents the XWind 4000 to Navy Recognition
     
The conceptship XWIND®4000 prefigures the ship of the future and the physical and functional integration of technological building blocks that could be implemented in the future. More than a conceptship, XWIND®4000 is a condensed version of all the innovations resulting from R&D work available in the medium term for future DCNS ships:

- Integrated superstructures (topside): optimized physical and functional integration of sensors (GE, radar, optronics) and communication implementing state-of-the-art technologies (flat plate antennas, metasensors, LIDAR etc.),
- Naval integration of drones: implementation from the ship and controlled by the Commander, surveillance drones equipped with several payloads (EO/IR pods), surmar radar, AIS etc.) that can carry weapons.
- Next Gen Combat Bridge concept for innovative plaform operation.
- New generation Operations Center for conducting tactial operations.
- Asymmetical threat combat system
- Ship’s datacenter allowing the optimization of resources (calculation and storage capacity) through the virtualization of the ship’s CMS (combat management system) and SMS (ship management system) applications.
- Energy control: modular hybrid propulsion, dynamic ship consumption management.
- Configurable, modular zones (T BONE)

     
DCNS presents the innovative XWIND 4000 concept ship design at EURONAVAL 2014
Detailled view of the inovations condensed on XWind 4000
     
The XWIND concept also includes a hybrid propulsion system that is innovative in two ways. First, the compact propulsion system (diesel engines, electric motor-generator and reduction gears) is housed in a single 'box' assembled and tested at the factory. Second, batteries store the excess electricity produced by the ship's alternators operating at optimum efficiency and can power the electric motor to offer a completely silent mode of propulsion when the ship is travelling at low speeds. The fuel saving is on the order of 10%,and maintenance costs are 40%lower since there is less wear on the diesels. At the same time, the system offers added discretion and a smaller environmental footprint.

The ship has three groups of vertical launcher silos and a main artillery in a stealth turret. It is also equipped with remote weapon station designed for machine gun, missile, laser... The XWind 4000 can speed up to 30 knots.