The Submarine Weapon Interface Manager (SWIM) has been developed for the Royal Navy Astute Class submarine to provide the interfacing between the Astute Combat Management and Weapon Control Systems, the submarine’s weapons, and weapon handling and launch system. SWIM is a development of Outfit DCM which is in service in all classes of RN submarines and studies are currently underway to retro-fit SWIM into these platforms and to promote the use of SWIM in overseas submarine applications.

SWIM consists of 2 identical cabinets, each cabinet interfacing with up to 3 weapon tubes. One cabinet is designated for the port tubes and the other for the starboard tubes. Each has a ‘traffic light’ monitoring facility to determine the state of the fire control solution and weapon launch process. This facility also gives in depth diagnosis of faults which can be cleared using the built-in spares provided. A ‘casualty’ firing mode is available for self defence weapons.

Where feasible, SWIM is COTS based, using commercially sourced processors, power supplies and busses. It offers upgrade paths to meet the RN Common Core Combat System philosophy for interconnectivity and openness. A suite of equipment and system test and recording facilities is available together with weapon simulation capabilities.