. Military Space News .
LockMart Begins Testing Australia's First Aegis Weapon System

illustration only
by Staff Writers
Moorestown NJ (SPX) Aug 14, 2009
The Aegis Weapon System destined for Australia's first Air Warfare Destroyer began a four month testing program at the Lockheed Martin Aegis Production Test Center.

When testing concludes, the full Aegis Weapon System will be ready for installation in HMAS Hobart, the first of three Australian Air Warfare Destroyers under contract.

Lockheed Martin's Production Test Center replicates a ship's superstructure and allows for the first integration of all the subsystems of the Aegis Weapon System, including the SPY-1D(V) radar, illuminators, all computing hardware, and the cabling that will be used in the final ship installation. In its Production Test Center, Lockheed Martin conducts testing concurrently with each subsystem's installation, as well as with the entire completed Aegis Weapon System, in order to ensure the system is ready for the rigors of sea before it ever leaves land.

"This land-based testing process is critical to the exacting reliability that Aegis continually delivers, and will deliver for the Australian Navy," said Orlando Carvalho, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Surface/Sea-Based Missile Defense Systems line of business.

Upon completion of the testing, the Aegis Weapon System will be shipped to ASC Shipyard in Adelaide, Australia, when the shipyard is ready to install the system. The Hobart-class Air Warfare Destroyer will be the most advanced and complex warships ever built in Australia and will introduce the Aegis Weapon System to the Royal Australian Navy.

The Aegis Weapon System is the world's premier proven naval defense system. Its precision S-band SPY-1 radar and missile system seamlessly integrate with its own command and control. Its ability to detect, track and engage targets ranging from sea-skimming cruise missiles to ballistic missiles in space is unmatched.

The 91 Aegis-equipped ships currently in service around the globe have more than 1,100 years of at-sea operational experience and have launched more than 3,500 missiles in tests and real-world operations. In addition to the U.S. and Australia, Aegis is the maritime weapon system of choice for Japan, Norway, South Korea and Spain.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Lockheed Martin
Naval Warfare in the 21st Century



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Australia finalizes frigate upgrade
Melbourne (UPI) Aug 5, 2009
Australia has given final approval to put its eight ANZAC-class frigates through a major $133 million anti-ship missile upgrade. The minister for defense, Sen. John Faulkner, and the minister for defense personnel, materiel and science, Greg Combet, jointly made the announcement of the anti-ship missile defense plan. ASMD involves a comprehensive upgrade of the ANZAC frigates, i ... read more







The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement