INTEGRATED MASTS – THE NEXT GENERATION MASTS

Cdr Nitin Agarwala

Officer-in-charge, Hull Inspection and Trials Unit,
Vishakhapatnam - 530 014, India

Abstract

The best position for a sensor on a ship is on top of the highest

mast. Naval Architects have hence used pole masts, cage masts, tripod
masts, lattice masts, MACK (Mast-Stack) masts, enclosed masts & solid
masts; to mount sensors of some description or the other. Multiple
sensors mean multiple antennas; hence ending up close together. Such
an arrangement requires the need to switch one system off before another
one can be used. As all sensor systems are installed separately on the
ship, and then subsequently integrated and tested, they add considerably
to the time and cost required for building a naval vessel.

With recent development of integrated masts for warships, gone

are the dozens of antennas and sensors found on practically every flat
topside surface of a modern naval vessel. These integrated masts allow
the exploitation of modern materials and technology to improve sensor
performance and coverage with pre-outfitting, leading to reduced cost of
construction due to reduced time overruns. The present paper explores
the developments in integrated mast design for integration of EW,
communication and RADAR effort and their future in warship construction.

Keywords: Integrated Masts; Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor; Advanced Technology

Masts; Littoral warfare.

Introduction

1. How does an antenna become designated for use in navigation, weapon fire
control, communications, electronic countermeasures or for any other reason, and
ultimately installed onboard a Naval surface ship? The answer should be, it’s part of the
antenna design procedure. Though the answer is simple, the process is not. There was
a time, when this design procedure, referred to as dart-boarding, was based on an
educated guess for the most feasible layout of the antennas, followed by experimental
verification. As the reliance on electronic systems such as communications, radar,
navigation, gunfire control, friend-or-foe identification, electronic countermeasures, and
aircraft operations increased, one realized that complex, intricate below-decks
electronic equipment was virtually useless unless matched with satisfactory antenna
performance. Hence former methods of antenna design and topside arrangements were
no longer adequate and dart-boarding disappeared - to be replaced by careful scientific,
planning. These electronic systems divided the shipboard antennas into three broad
groups:

(a) Omni-directional antennas - used mainly for communications, air

navigation, and passive reception. These satisfy the need of ships and aircraft to
maneuver independently of each other and fixed radio stations.
 (b) Directional antennas - used for transmitting and receiving spatially
concentrated energy in one direction at a time. These are used for radar, gunfire
control, and satellite communication to obtain information about or from remote
objects.

(c) Directional antennas - used to determine bearing of incident radiation; and

is used primarily for direction finding navigation and Electronic Countermeasures
(ECM).

2. For an operational naval platform, the basic minimum required sensors are
communication antennas from HF to UHF, navigation radar, surveillance radar, IFF, Fire
Control Radar, ESM, jammers, electro-optical sensor systems and missile up-links.
Providing these large number and variety of distinct services on the antenna in the
extremely restricted space presents many very-difficult and different problems which do
not arise in other technical disciplines. Clustering of so many antennas in so little space,
plus the necessity for simultaneous emission and reception together with the
undesirable, but unavoidable, electromagnetic coupling to, and re-radiation from, a host
of other shipboard metal objects, results in a most trying system integration problem for
the ship. Strenuous efforts must be made to reach a compromise with all competing
topside subsystems so as to provide the least degradation in overall performance.

(a) Pole mast (b) Cage mast (c) Tripod mast

Figure 1: Types of ship masts used by a Naval Architect

Types of mast

3. To meet the requirement of these sensors, the Naval Architects have hence used
pole masts (see fig 1a), cage masts (see fig 1b), tripod masts (see fig 1c), lattice masts
(see fig 2a), MACK (Mast-Stack) masts (see fig 2b), enclosed masts (see fig 2c) & solid
masts. The various types of masts have been a result of changing requirement of the
navies and the developing technology used over the years. Of all these masts, a plated
mast, even with a higher weight than a lattice mast, is preferred in most cases due to its
advantages of lower radar cross section, improved through life maintenance (due to
enclosed structure), lesser vibration and ability to handle larger weight of modern
equipments. The design of the mast however is not limited to just the placement of the
sensors. The mast design has a direct bearing on the design of the vessel itself as its
weight will impact the stability performance, air resistance will impact the ships speed
and the arrangement of the antennae will affect the top side electromagnetic
environment and RADHAZ. When designing, one needs to structurally integrate the
mast to the ship to ensure strength due to both static and dynamic loads (whipping
loads due to hull slamming, air resistance, shock), provide access, power and cooling
air and study the affect of the heat plume from the exhausts / funnel impinging on the
antennae.

(a) Lattice mast (b) MACK (MAst + StaCK) (c) Enclosed mast

Figure 2: Types of ship masts used by a Naval Architect

New generation masts

4. Conventional warship masts are plagued with a variety of downsides which

include large amounts of steel making the ship topside heavy resulting into weight
penalty, expensive maintenance due to exposed sensors, wooding as a result of sensor
/ mast interactions, electromagnetic induction due to spurious reflections and poor
screening and impingement in return causing a high radar signature. This has led to
designers looking at alternatives. Accordingly in recent years, there has been a
significant interest in the concept of composite masts, with a variety of designs being
developed. These designs aim to house sensors and antenna within the protection of
the mast and use frequency sensitive shielding to allow the sensors to “see” through the
mast panel structure thus offering an improved signature and arc of coverage. Such
major initiatives are:

(a) The Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor (AEM/S) system designed by the

US and initiated in 1995 is a hexagonal (used onboard USS Radford DD-968,
see figure 3b) or an octagonal (used onboard U.S.S. San Antonio LPD-17, see
figure 3a) structure. It encloses the existing radar and other sensitive equipment,
protecting them from the environment thereby reducing maintenance
requirements. The lower half of the AEM/S system serves to hold up the top half.
The case of the lower half is balsa, with E-glass skins. An electromagnetic (EM)
shield compartment that uses reflecting metallic shielding is included in a portion
of the lower half of the mast to meet EMI design requirements. The top half
contains a tailored sandwich composite material made up of a foam core, with
frequency selective material, as well as GRP structural laminate skins.

Figure 3(a): Hexagonal Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor

Figure 3(b): Octagonal Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor

(b) The Advanced Technology Mast (ATM) designed by the UK, comprises of
a steel substructure clad in advanced fibre reinforced plastic composite panels,
which incorporate radar-absorbing layers (see figure 4). Sensors are installed in
interchangeable modules mounted within the cladding. The philosophy of the
mast is intended to support future surface warship designs and retrofit to existing
ships. The sensors and radio equipment are completely enclosed in the radar
reflective mast structures. The masts look like unstayed polemasts with very
large rectangular cross-sections, tapering from the base to the top.

Figure 4: Advanced Technology Mast

(c) The Integrated mast (I-MAST) designed by Netherlands, is a completely

different design approach from the traditional sensor layout (see fig 5). This mast
type integrates the sensors into the structure itself (see fig 6). One central mast
structure houses the radar, optronic, and communication sensors and antennas
as well as all cabinets and peripherals. The Integrated Mast concept improves
the undesirable situation of having to equip a ship with sensors and antenna after
she has been completed in full. In the I-Mast, the mast and the equipment are
built and tested while the ship is under construction. When the ship is ready, the
mast is put on the ship as a turnkey system. It has a comparatively simple
interface to the ship’s power supply, cooling water supply, combat system, and
mechanical deck structure, making installation a plug and play operation. The
mast itself is a fully air tight module forming part of the ship’s citadel, providing
environmental protection against shock, blast, vibration, solar radiation,
temperature, uptake efflux, electromagnetic radiation and chemical, biological,
radiological or nuclear weapons. An external load-bearing steel structure has
been adopted to facilitate the integration of different types of sensors and
communications, with equipment arranged over four deck levels (a top deck,
upper antenna deck, lower antenna deck and an equipment deck, see figure 5b).
A shielded duct or “backbone” routes cabling and cooling circuitry up through the
centre of the mast to serve individual equipment. All processing cabinets are
sited on the equipment deck. This is also the floor of the mast module and the
interface to the ship platform through a single crew entry hatch and two cable
entry panels fitted port and starboard. Services routed through these panels
comprise water, air, own-ship data, power supplies, monitoring and control, dual
communication, video and combat system buses, and auxiliary interfaces.
 Figure 5(a): IMAST Figure 5(b): Cutout showing decks inside

Figure 6: Integration of sensors into the structure

Sensors of I-Mast

5. All radars and antennas in an I-Mast not only have a full 360° field of view; they
are also developed so as to operate simultaneously without interfering each other.
These radars are non-rotating, four-faced active phased array radars, which in itself is a
major performance enhancement. As the four faces operate simultaneously, the radars
achieve four times the time on target achieved by a rotating radar. The surface
surveillance radar (Seastar) was developed especially for this purpose and it is capable
of detecting and tracking small objects (e.g. divers' head) between the waves,
contributing enormously to situational awareness in littoral environments. The details of
the sensors as fitted in an I-Mast are as under:

(a) SeaMaster 400 (also called SMILE) is a non-rotating S-band radar with
four faces for air and surface surveillance. It is derived from the proven SMART
and APAR radar systems. SM400’s unique concept of multibeam volume search
with four active scanning faces ensures the simultaneous performance of all
operational tasks at a high update rate and very low false alarm rate. SM400 also
 provides helicopter direction and approach capabilities and has three fire control
channels. The system’s high number of parallel transmit and receive channels
provide a high degree of redundancy.

(b) Seawatcher (also called SEASTAR) is a four face non-rotating active

phased array X-band radar for naval surface surveillance. The high resolution
system automatically detects and tracks asymmetric threats and very small
objects such as mines, periscopes. Seawatcher can also be used for helicopter
guidance.

(c) Gatekeeper is a 360° panoramic electro -optical surveillance and alerter

system based on IR/TV technology. Designed to counter emerging asymmetric
threats down to small boats and swimmers, Gatekeeper increases short-range
situational awareness in littoral environments.

(d) The Integrated Communication Antenna System (ICAS) facilitates the use
of standard VHF / UHF communications equipment, is fitted with Link 16
integration, provides excellent transmit/receive isolation, offers estate for
auxiliary antennas such as GSM/GPS and is designed for future growth.

(e) The non-rotating Identification Friend or Foe (NR IFF) uses a cylindrical
array fitted to the top of the structure. It is designed to operate with standard
interrogator/transponder systems. It is optimized for operation with a non-rotating
primary radar and offers accuracy commensurate with Mode 5/S.

6. To further improve situational awareness, and exploit the complementarities of

the SMILE, SEASTAR, IFF and Gatekeeper systems, outputs from each are fused at
plot level in order that a single integrated tactical picture is presented to the command.
However, the option also remains to receive separate track information from the
individual sensor systems. The type of systems in the Mast is completely up to the
customer. Although the Integrated Mast contains mostly Thales systems, it will be
possible to use customer-furnished or third party systems. The Integrated Mast is not
just one product. It is a series of Masts of various sizes, each one intended for a
different class of naval vessel. Introduced in December 2007, the I-Mast 400 is the first
member of the I-Mast family and designed for the Patrol Ships of the Royal Netherlands
Navy. The I-Mast 100, introduced in September 2009, is the second member of the I-
Mast family. This system is designed for smaller, corvette-sized vessels.

Need for an integrated mast

7. Littoral environments are extremely complex given the high density of natural and
man-made clutter, crowded commercial air and sea lanes, vehicle traffic along the
coastline, and the effects of anomalous propagation on sensor performance. To further
complicate the problem, recent years have seen the emergence of an increasingly
“asymmetric” threat set (including, inter alia, unmanned air vehicles, “gofast” vessels,
fast inshore attack craft, gliders, dinghies, swimmers and mines) that are intrinsically
difficult to detect in high clutter backgrounds. To resolve such issues the concept of an
integrated mast incorporating the principal surveillance sensors and communication
systems has evolved. By resolving the electromagnetic conflicts and line-of-sight
obstructions inherent to traditional topside antenna arrangements, the integrated mast
aims at delivering an unobstructed field of view, reduced cross section; ease of
electromagnetic friction and to simplify shipboard integration. This in return provides a
significant benefit in terms of improved operational performance and availability, shorter
shipbuilding time, reduced maintenance requirements and significant savings in below-
deck volume. In an integrated mast various antennae are integrated within the design of
the mast itself along with the electronic equipment to be “integrated” in the mast as a
single unit. The result is a mast which is a structurally self supporting module. The
integrated mast with its technology of integrated sensor concept delivers huge
advantages which are:

(a) Better operational performance

(b) Higher operational availability due to maintenance possible in the
protected, sheltered environment of the Mast, meaning that it is no longer
necessary to wait for repairs until weather conditions are safe enough
(c) Reduced ship-building time
(d) Reduced maintenance requirements due to non-rotating radars
(e) Enormous savings in below-deck space
(f) Reduced signature / increased arc of coverage
(g) Reduced costs
(i) Lower sensor costs due to improved environment
(ii) Cheaper maintenance due to lack of corrosion, no re-painting and
modular approach
(h) Reduced topside weight / improved stability
(j) Reduced EMI - RAM covered decks
(k) Potential for quick role changes - flexibility, upgradeability

Conclusion

8. Various advanced Mast design have been produced in the recent past which
have been discussed in this paper. All of them have been tested for their structural
performance against both environmental and shock loads. One can say with confidence
that today the concept of “integrated mast” has become a reality from just a technology
demonstration project. Though it is definitely a product which shall become an integral
part of the future ship design, however many issues such as the impact of the integrated
mast on ship design need to be studied in detail. One needs to also study issues such
as material selection for the mast, access arrangements and structural integration and
stability as key aspects among many. Finally the integrated mast designers themselves
will continue to be challenged by how to design a mast or series of masts that offer a
solution that is sufficiently flexible for fit to a variety of vessel sizes and satisfy differing
customer requirements.

References

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Modularity through design, International Conference of Engineering design,
Glasgow, Aug 2001

2. Law, Preston E Jr; Accommodating antenna systems in the ship design process

3. Miller, Paul; Design Criteria for composite masts, The 12th Chesapeake Sailing
Yatch Symposium
 4. Koko T S, Brennan D P, Luo X, Norwood M E, Jiang L and Akpan U O;
Modelling and Analysis Capabilities for Lightweight Masts, Defence R&D
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5. Savage C L and Kimber A; When is a mast a mast? The impact of integrated

masts on platform design and classification, RINA Warship 2010

6. Meloling John H.; Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor (AEM/S) System,

Communication Systems Technologies

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Royal

8. MacDonald, G; Cost Benefit Evaluation Methodology in Warship Survivability

Design

Author’s Biography

Commander Nitin Agarwala. Commissioned in the Indian Navy in

1993, the officer is a Naval Architect with both field and teaching
experience. The officer has served onboard a naval ship, the
Fabrication Department of Naval Dockyards Mumbai and
Vishakhapatnam and Headquarters of Western Naval Command. He is
presently the officer-in-charge of the Hull Inspections and Trials Unit at
Vishakhapatnam.