The next generation marine inertial navigator is here now

The MARLIN (Marine Ring Laser Inertial Navigator) development program has matured into the MK 49 Ship´s Inertial Navigation System (SINS). The MK 49 system is in full production with proven at-sea performance better than NATO SINS specifications. Production is currently underway for 56 NATO SINS systems for the navies of The Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom and for 20 MK 49 Inertial Navigators for the navies of Australia and New Zealand. Thirty-one systems have been delivered to date (November 1993) after passing a factory acceptance test (FAT) involving 30 hour NATO 1, NATO 2, and NATO 3 scenarios with full Scorsby motions and heading changes every six hours. Ten systems are operational aboard NATO ships. Formal shipboard acceptance tests (SATS) have been performed successfully. The SATS involved zig-zag maneuvers, speed changes, and heading change box tests in the North Sea, all of which were passed with significantly better performance than NATO SINS specifications. The authors discuss the advantages of the MK 49 SINS and present performance results