By Rob Koon, 1.0/NAVAIR Public Affairs

Warfighters have a new ally in the battle to safely land their aircraft and helicopters in almost any weather. Developed under the leadership of the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment program office, the MORIAH Wind System (MWS) provides the detailed wind information needed by the warfighters to help them make critical decisions in air operations, combat, navigation, tactical planning and firefighting.

“MORIAH is a state-of-the-art system that provides digital wind speed and direction information, including crosswinds and headwinds for use on ships and shore stations,” said Capt. Stephen Rorke, the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment program manager, PMA 251. “MORIAH will replace the current Wind Measuring and Indicating System, which is obsolete.”

MORIAH provides a single wind measuring system, consistent across all classes of ships and shore stations. The system consists of four parts: An ultrasonic wind sensor with non-moving parts; a new processor capable of interfacing with legacy systems and Local Area Networks; an advanced display with a full range of available wind information and ship speed/course data, including Aircraft Recovery Bulletins, Launch and Recovery Envelopes and Final Course data; and a basic display showing just wind information and ship speed/course data.

The MORIAH program began in March 2002 when a contract was awarded for the design, engineering, building, testing and support of the system. The prime contractor is Quality Performance, Inc. located in Fredericksburg, Va. QPI teamed with Aeronautical & General Instruments, Ltd., which is building the MORIAH system.

In mid-2003, a prototype of MORIAH was installed on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) for shipboard developmental testing. MORIAH passed this test and was used with great success during the carriers’ subsequent eighteen-month deployment.

In late-2004, MORIAH was approved for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) and 18 systems were bought. In 2005, MORIAH was installed on the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and the system on the USS George Washington (CVN 73) was brought up to the production configuration.

In 2006, MORIAH was installed on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). “The ship’s operators and maintainers are extremely pleased with MORIAH. It is a very dependable system and is a true improvement over the current Type F Wind system.” said Bill Pitcher, the Carrier and Field Service Unit representative for PMA 251 on CVN 68.

MORIAH has also been installed on the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), and USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and the amphibious assault ships USS Tarawa (LHA 1) and USS Nassau (LHA 4) and has been delivered to support new ship construction of the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) and the guided missile destroyers USS Sampson (DDG 102), USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Sterett (DDG 104), and the USS Dewey (DDG 105).

Full Rate Production of MORIAH was granted in August 2006. Over the next several years, MORIAH will continue to be installed on all aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, as well as newly built destroyers and amphibious transport dock ships. Future shipments of MORIAH will be retrofitted in existing destroyers and cruisers, and other ship classes as needed.

Photo cutline: “The MORIAH High End Display installed in Primary Flight Control on the USS Nassau, LHA 4.”