Emerson announced DeltaV Version 16.LTS in Austin, Texas, on January 20, 2026. The release covers the DeltaV distributed control system and integrated safety instrumented system, consolidating capabilities introduced across earlier feature releases into a long-term support version. Emerson positions the update as a step toward software-defined automation: control, data and deployment resources can be adapted more flexibly while the system continues to support the predictable operation expected in process manufacturing.
Process producers are under pressure to modernize without turning every expansion into a large hardware project. DeltaV 16.LTS addresses that challenge with new ways to deploy control capacity, connect field devices and make contextualized operations data available beyond the control room. The result is not a single replacement product, but a coordinated software and architecture release intended to lower automation friction while improving access to information for engineering, operations and business teams.
| CONTROL | The fault-tolerant DeltaV IQ Controller uses a modular, server-based architecture so control strategies can be assigned to software-defined resources. |
| DEPLOY | DeltaV Flex offers a flexible, subscription-style path for scaling system capabilities as project and operating needs change. |
| CONNECT | PK Controllers add native PROFINET over Ethernet-APL connectivity, while the release also supports EtherNet/IP integration for connected automation architectures. |
| SEE | Continuous Historian Elite supports contextualized data for analytics and AI, and DeltaV Live Enterprise View provides secure, read-only process displays outside the control room. |
The release is aimed at process operations that need dependable control together with a practical modernization path, including new plants, capacity expansions and existing DeltaV estates planning staged upgrades. Control and safety engineers can use the LTS baseline to coordinate controller, I/O, visualization, historian and cybersecurity decisions. Emerson states that DeltaV 16.LTS maintains ISA Security Compliance Institute SSA Level 1 certification, aligned with ISA/IEC 62443-3-3 and 4-1 requirements.
A migration should begin with an inventory of controllers, I/O cards, terminal blocks, networks, safety components, applications and current software revisions. Teams should then define which 16.LTS capabilities are required, check supported upgrade paths and validate device, firmware and application compatibility against Emerson documentation. Any control or safety change should pass the site's engineering, cybersecurity, testing and management-of-change procedures before deployment.
The items below are installed-base reference models from Emerson's M-series ordering data, not a DeltaV 16.LTS compatibility list. Before ordering, confirm the complete model, revision, software or firmware requirements, quantity, label information and the correct card-to-terminal-block pairing.
| Model | Hardware Role / Description |
|---|---|
| KJ3203X1-BA1 / 12P3270X042 / VE4001S2T2B4 | 32-channel 24 VDC dry-contact discrete input with standard termination block |
| KJ3222X1-BA1 / 12P2532X072 / VE4003S2B2 | 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog input with fused I/O termination block |
| KJ3222X1-BA1 / 12P2532X112 / VE4003S2B2 | 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog input with fused I/O termination block |
| KJ3222X1-BA1 / 12P2532X122 / VE4003S2B2 | 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog input with fused I/O termination block |
| KJ3222X1-BA1 / 12P2532X122 / VE4003S2B3 | 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog input with 4-wire I/O termination block |
| VE4003S2B1 | Standard I/O termination block for 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog input |
| VE4033S2B1 | Redundant standard I/O termination block for 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog input |
| VE4003S2B4 | 16-pin mass termination block for 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog input |
| VE4003S2B5 | 24-pin mass termination block for 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog input |
| VE4003S4B1 | Standard I/O termination block for thermocouple and millivolt input |
| VE4003S5B1 | Cold junction compensated termination block |
| VE4003S6B1 | RTD termination block for 8-channel RTD analog input |
| VE4005S2B1 | Standard I/O termination block for 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog output |
| VE4035S2B1 | Redundant standard I/O termination block for 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog output |
| VE4005S2B2 | Fused I/O termination block for 8-channel 4–20 mA HART analog output |
