Posted on: Wednesday, July 11, 2001

Kailua-developed Web portal helps Navy track subs

By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Navy this month deployed an anti-submarine warfare Web portal, developed by the Kailua office of the military research and consulting firm Orincon, to all its fleets.

The portal, resembling a no-frills Web browser, is designed to help Navy personnel exchange information on possible submarine contacts.

For example, sonar operators could use a chat feature to discuss a possible contact with shore-based experts or other submarines. The system lets users share and transmit images like tracking maps and acoustic patterns.

The software — known as WeCAN, for Web-centric anti-submarine warfare Net — was designed to be easy to learn, said Joe DeTommaso, business development director with Orincon in Kailua.

It has been used by Navy ships since 1998, but was deployed throughout the Navy this month. The seven member nations of RIMPAC, a Pacific Rim defense consortium, used the software during July 2000 exercises off Hawai'i, and the software was also demonstrated during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's naval exercises in October of last year.

Orincon developed the portal in conjunction with fleet operators and engineers from the Naval Space and Warfare Command.

Orincon officials would not provide an estimate of the contract's value.

Orincon employs about 30 people, mostly engineers, at its Kailua offices near 'Aikahi Park Shopping Center. The Hawai'i operation designs submarine-detection systems, but also has divisions working on computer security and software platforms. The company won more than $1 million in defense contracts during the spring to support several such projects.

The San Diego-based company is one of several defense contracting firms with a presence in Hawai'i that have developed Internet platforms for the military.

Honolulu-based Computer Training Academy, for example, created Web-based platforms for the Air Force to use in disaster response.