A CUTTING edge Runcorn company has won a prestigious contract to supply a fleet of mini-submarines with some of the most rugged computers in the world.

JLT was chosen to equip Plymouth-based Marlin Submarines because of its unique robust qualities.

James Riggs, design engineer of Marlin Submarines said: “There are not many devices on the market that meet the rugged standards of the JLT 15021 PC at its price point.

“The screen size and resolution is ideal for our application and its portability offers the advantage of being able to work on the system in the comfort of the office.

“With JLT we can also specify the exact device exactly to meet our requirements and they’ve provided excellent technical support.”

The computers can withstand high temperature, humidity and the occasional sea water dousing they say would render other equipment inoperable.

Marlin will use JLT to not only run its navigational and autopilot software, but also for sonar applications and image capture from an onboard 360 degree camera pod.

JLT has developed its pioneering technology at The Heath Business Park.

Its rugged computers were first developed for the Swedish military and are now widely used in harsh outdoor and industrial environments among the military, emergency services and manufacturing.

Their technology is used by multi nationals such as Fed Ex, Volvo and Rolls Royce.