Navy's Most Advanced Subs Will Soon Use Xbox Controllers

Sailors man the rails during the commissioning ceremony for the USS John Warner (SSN 785) at Naval Station Norfolk. The sub will soon use an Xbox controller to operate its periscope. (US Navy photo/Casey Hopkins)

ABOARD USS JOHN WARNER -- The control room of the Navy's most advanced submarine is filled with sophisticated computers, flat-screen monitors and sailors who grew up in a digital world.


The Navy is beginning to use an Xbox 360 controller -- like the ones you find at the mall -- to operate the periscopes on board Virginia-class submarines.

Unlike other types of submarines people are familiar with from Hollywood, Virginia-class submarines don't have a traditional rotating tube periscope that only one person can look through at a time.

It's been replaced with two photonics masts that rotate 360 degrees. They feature high-resolution cameras whose images are displayed on large monitors that everyone in the control room can see. There's no barrel to peer through anymore; everything is controlled with a helicopter-style stick. But that stick isn't so popular.

"The Navy got together and they asked a bunch of J.O.s and junior guys, 'What can we do to make your life better?' " said Lt. j.g. Kyle Leonard, the USS John Warner's assistant weapons officer, referring to junior officers and sailors. "And one of the things that came out is the controls for the scope. It's kind of clunky in your hand; it's real heavy."


Lockheed Martin refers to the classified research lab in Manassas where testing occurred as the submarine version of "Area 51," the nickname for the Nevada base where some of the Air Force's most advanced and secretive projects are tested.



"That joystick is by no means cheap, and it is only designed to fit on a Virginia-class submarine," said Senior Chief Mark Eichenlaub, the John Warner's assistant navigator. "I can go to any video game store and procure an Xbox controller anywhere in the world, so it makes a very easy replacement."


The Xbox controller will be installed on other Virginia-class submarines, such as the Norfolk-based John Warner, through the normal modernization process, according to Brienne Lang, a spokeswoman for the Navy's program executive office for submarines. The John Warner had a demonstration model aboard this past week as it transited from Naval Station Norfolk to Groton, Conn.




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