By delivering the mission critical reliability, security, and rapid disaster recovery necessary for military applications, the FutureFLEX Air-Blown Fiber system has a long and distinguished record in serving all branches of the military including its wide adoption as the premier fiber optic LAN backbone solution for naval shipboard applications and other U.S. Navy related projects. 

Representative projects include:

• Amphibious Transport Docks "San Antonio" and others LPD

• Aircraft Carriers - Nimitz Class (CNV)

• Destroyers-Arleigh Burke Class (DDG)

• Mine Warfare Ships - Avenger Class (MCM)

• NAVAIR

• Naval Research Labs

• Naval Air Warfare Center, Patuxent River NAS

• Point Loma Naval NAS

• Naval Surface Warfare Center - Dahlgren Division

• Norfolk, Avondal, Ingalls, and other naval shipyards

• Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and other government contracted naval projects

As the first ”bundled” air-blown fiber system in North America, FutureFLEX  is the most advanced fiber optic infrastructure available today, surpassing both conventional fiber optic and alternative solutions.  Richard W. Johnson of Newport News Shipbuilding (now, Northrop Grumman NewPort News NGNN) highlights some of the many benefits of the FutureFLEX system:

                     When I need to change the wiring in a section of the ship,
                     I can blow out the old fiber optic (bundle) and blow in the new
                     in a matter of seconds. The cost is just pennies, and it takes
                     just two or three people, not a whole team.

To meet the special needs of naval carriers and amphibious assault ships, FutureFLEX provides unprecedented product performance for safety, reliability, and mission critical efficiency. 

FutureFLEX benefits include:

• Fiber and bandwidth on demand for immediate scalability, quick and easy network upgrades, reconfigurations, and any network moves, adds or changes - even in highly secure and hard-to-reach areas.
• Uninterrupted flow of operations and significant reduction or elimination of network downtime.
• Flexibility to install only the number of fibers required anytime and anywhere optical fiber is needed at sea or at dock, eliminating the need and expense or "dark fiber"
• Elimination of construction work since blown fiber installation requires no construction work once tube cables are in place
• Quick and easy mission-critical restoration by blowing in fiber bundles (not individual fibers) at speeds of up to 150 feet per minute
• Exclusive advantage of blowing out fiber bundles for reuse in another application, preserving the fiber investment
• Adherence to safety, flame, smoke and toxicity requirements
• And much more...

For more information about SEL Ship Systems, please contact: