Viglen completes MoD mission

System builder installs HPC system at MoD's Defence Academy

System builder and VAR Viglen has completed a contract to supply an HPC solution to the Ministry of Defence.

The £400,000 deal was for the nuclear department of the MoD's Defence Academy, enabling it to effectively create reactor modelling and train the next generation of naval nuclear engineers.

Viglen installed more than 3,200 cores, supplemented with 48TB of high-performance storage connected by an Infiniband communication link, at the Nuclear Department at HMS Sultan in Gosport. The deal also involved 36 Intel Phi Coprocessors – one of the earliest and largest uses of this technology to date, according to the Hertfordshire-based firm.

Dr Kirk Atkinson, senior lecturer of reactor physics and HPC at the MoD Defence Academy, said: "Obtaining this capability was essential to support research for the next generation of submarine reactors.

“We were very pleased that Viglen was able to deliver, install and commission all the equipment on time and within budget ahead of our year end as this was a key factor for us.”

Bordan Tkachuk, chief executive of Viglen, added: “This has been an extremely interesting project for us. Computer modelling has been used extensively in the design of nuclear-powered submarine reactor systems and continues to be used through-life to enhance and extend performance and to assure safety in operation and during their eventual decommissioning.”