- 25 years ago I took a tour of a Los Angeles class fast attack submarine.
- The hull is covered with rubber tiles to make the sub less detectable with sonar.
- Creaform has sold the US Navy scanners that can assess the quality of the tiles.
It was almost 25 years ago that I had the good fortune to a take a tour of a Los Angeles class, fast attack submarine on a Air Force National Guard junket to San Diego – amazing. The first thing you notice when you step on the deck is that it is covered with some type of rubber compound. This helps to absorb the sonar signals and make the sub undetectable.
Creaform, a Canadian-based company that develops laser scanning technology has sold its Handyscan 3D system to the US Navy. The first delivery of the MAXscan laser scanners will be to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which is located about 10 miles from where I live.
The MAXscan 3D laser scanners will be used to scan the submarine hulls, covered in a special kind of rubber, to detect any damage done to the rubber tiles, so that customized replacement parts can be quickly manufactured. Other Navy bases are investigating the technology.
