Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Port Hueneme Division (PHD) engineers, along with their industry partners, have developed and placed into service two working prototypes of a new Underway Replenishment (UNREP) system, known as Heavy Electric - Standard Tensioned REplenishment Alongside Method (E-STREAM). The new system increases the rate at which cargo can be transferred between ships at sea as well as doubles the nominal maximum load that can be transferred. These capabilities are made possible by utilizing technologies, such as, Variable Frequency Drives (VFD), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), and varying sensing devices to monitor and control the transfer of cargo. Currently, there is one prototype system installed at the Port Hueneme land-based UNREP test site and another deployed on USNS ARCTIC (T-AOE 8). The Heavy E-STREAM system has so far been an unprecedented success in the design and deployment of a naval ship system. The leap in technology and integration as well as the relatively short time to reach the fleet coupled with its early success are not often seen in military acquisition. The following paper is an account of the design of Heavy E-STREAM system and the overall philosophy and UNREP experience that drove it.
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