US Navy Awards $208.7M To LockMart For Three Aegis Weapon Systems

MISSILE DEFENSE

File photo of an Aegis Weapon System missile test fire.

Moorestown NJ (SPX) Feb 01, 2005
The US Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a $208.7 million contract to produce three Aegis Weapon Systems. These Aegis Weapon Systems will equip the next three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the 60th, 61st and 62nd ships of the class, and will provide the Navy with an adaptable open architecture weapons system that can easily and affordably be upgraded as technology evolves or threats change.

"Aegis Open Architecture gives the Navy greater flexibility to continue to adapt the Aegis Weapon System for new and more complex missions - and to do it faster and at lower cost," said Orlando Carvalho, vice president of Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors' Surface Systems line of business.

"With a focus on whole-systems thinking, Aegis Open Architecture is designed to retrofit Aegis-equipped ships already at sea as well as be transportable across all of the Navy's surface force, providing extensive commonality and linkage in a way that further reduces acquisition and certification risk and cost."

Aegis Open Architecture is built using an Open Architecture Computing Environment (OACE) Category 3 infrastructure. OACE is a set of international standards designed to minimize the requirements for custom software, speed the development of new applications and significantly reduce the cost of technology upgrades and refresh.

The Navy has chosen OACE Category 3 as the first step in the service's move to an open computing environment. The SPY-1 radar and display control programs in these three Aegis Weapon Systems represent the key Aegis Open Architecture components.

Lockheed Martin's approach to open architecture is built on nearly a decade of "open system, rapid capability" deliveries to the Navy, including combat system, sonar, communications and electronic warfare capabilities.

For example, Lockheed Martin's Acoustic Rapid Commercial Off-The-Shelf Insertion (ARCI) program provides open architecture solutions for the Navy's submarine force. Since 1998, ARCI systems have been installed on 44 submarines, consistently on-schedule and under-budget, and is scheduled to be installed on all active submarines.

The Aegis Weapon System is the world's premier naval surface defense system and the sea-based element of the nation's Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Aegis is currently deployed on 68 U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers on station around the globe, with 18 more ships currently planned.

Aegis is also the primary weapon system on the Japanese Kongo-class destroyers, it is part of two European ship construction programs - the Spanish F-100 and the Norwegian New Frigate, and the Republic of Korea is now building three Aegis- equipped destroyers. Recently, Australia selected the Aegis Weapon System for its Air Warfare Destroyer program.

While this contract will not create new jobs, it sustains high-skill manufacturing jobs at Lockheed Martin's business in Moorestown.

MISSILE DEFENSE

Analysis: Missile Defense Semantics

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 17, 2005
With the failure of the latest test of the U.S. national missile defense system in December, the Pentagon seems to now be engaged in semantic gymnastics, declining to say whether the system is operational or not, and suggesting it never promised it would be.

SUPERPOWERS US Warned Not To Ignore Chinese Military Advances	NUKEWARS Iran Vows Enrichment Freeze Will Be Short-Lived Cat And Mouse Game Over Iran US Faces Limited Military Options In Iran U.S. Contingency Plan For Pakistani Nukes
MISSILE NEWS Lockeed Martin Receives $532M Production Contract For PAC-3 Missile Raytheon's CLAWS Scores Direct Hit, Marking End Of Development Testing Arming US Airliners Against Possible Missile Attacks Too Pricey For Now Lockheed Martin Begins Testing Of Aegis Weapon System With SPY-1F Radar	MISSILE DEFENSE US Navy Awards $208.7M To LockMart For Three Aegis Weapon Systems Analysis: Missile Defense Semantics US Missile Test Failure Caused By 'Minor' Glitch: General LockMart Completes Testing Of Aegis BMD Initial Engagement Capability
AEROSPACE Political Fur Flies Over Marine One Deal Military Sales Lift Lockheed Martin Profit To $372 Million Asia Aviation To Defy Global Trend In 05 India Ruins Pakistan's F-16 Shopping Spree	UAV NEWS NASA Balloon Makes Record-Breaking Flight Arotech's Batteries To Develop Zinc-Air Batteries For UAVs Sanswire Signs Agreement To Launch Stratellites In South America Northrop Grumman Completes Testing Medium Altitude Endurance UAV
IRAQ WARS	MILTECH US Navy Commissions Northrop Grumman-Built Aegis Destroyer Northrop Grumman Awarded $197 Million Contract For Work On USS Enterprise Airbag Inflators Provide Push For New Surface Vessel Launcher Russian Navy May Sink By 2008: Admiral

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights 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