By
EDWARD J. WALSH
Edward
J. Walsh is the editor of Naval Systems Update.
Aegis
Combat System
The
SPY-1A and SPY-1B Aegis radars use two transmitters linked to four
phased-array antennas, each of which emits an electronically controlled
beam across a 90-degree field. On Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) Aegis
cruisers, two antennas, installed in the forward deckhouse, face forward
and starboard; two antennas installed in the after deck house face port
and aft. The SPY-1D variant designed for the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51)
Aegis destroyer uses only one transmitter; all four antennas on the Burkes
are accommodated in the single deckhouse. SPY-1A, the first variant, was
fielded to Baseline 1 (CGs 47 to 51) and 2 (CGs 52 to 58) ships. Baseline
3 (CGs 59 to 64) and 4 (CGs 65 to 73) cruisers received the SPY-1B, which
incorporates improved antennas and electronic counter-countermeasures, and
improves performance against low-flying antiship missiles (ASMs). Aegis
system control for Baselines 1, 2, and 3 (in their original configuration)
is provided by standard UYK-7 Navy shipboard computers. Baseline 4 ships
are equipped with newer UYK-43 and UYK-44 computers.
The
SPY-1 radar is integrated with the ship's weapons and other air, surface,
and undersea sensors to provide rapid response to threats, especially
antiship missiles that are launched against naval forces at sea or
operating close to shore. When the SPY-1 detects a target, it continues to
track it. The Aegis command-and-decision system evaluates the target
parameters to identify it as hostile or nonhostile. In the case of a
hostile indentification (ID), the ship's tactical action officer and/or
commanding officer may choose to launch Standard SM-2 air-defense missiles
from the Mk41 vertical launch system, which is installed on the forward
and after decks of both the cruisers and destroyers. (CGs 47 to 51 are
fitted with the Mk26 trainable launcher instead of the Mk41.) Using preset
doctrine, the system also may automatically initiate missile launch.
The
Aegis weapon system has been upgraded regularly, through a series of
ordnance alterations (ORDALTS), to incorporate new weapons, sensors, and
threat profiles. A critical Navy priority in recent years has been the
upgrading of fleet defense against ASMs approaching at sea-skimming
altitudes.
The
most recent upgrades to the Aegis weapon system provide improvements to
ships currently in service as well as ships under construction. Some
Baseline 3 ships (CGs 59 to 64) will have their UYK-7 computers replaced
by faster and more capable UYK-43s.
Improvements
in the Baseline 5 ships (DDGs 51 to 78 and CGs 65 to 73) included enhanced
radars, new displays, and an interface with the SM-2 Block IVA missile,
which is designed to address the theater ballistic-missile (TBM) threat
under the Navy's area TBMD program.
The
Aegis program office, PMS-400, under the Program Executive Officer for
Theater Air Defense/Surface Combatants (PEO T/SC), has initiated an effort
to shift the Aegis weapon system from the Navy-unique MILSPEC architecture
of UYK-7 and UYK-43 computers to a processing architecture based on
commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology.
The
COTS insertion begins with Baseline 6 Phase 1, which introduces the UYQ-70
advanced display system, a family of new COTS-based displays that also
provide some processing capability. Baseline 6 Phase 1 also marks the
transition from a traditional "point-to-point" architecture to
an architecture based on local area networks (LANs); the Aegis Mk6 display
system will be configured in a LAN architecture. Baseline 6 Phase 1--which
goes aboard DDG 79 through DDG 84--integrates the cooperative engagement
capability (CEC) and also includes an "adjunct" processor, a
commercial processor derived from the UYQ-70 family, and a TAC-3
workstation to support the Aegis operational readiness-and-test system
(ORTS).
Beginning
with DDG 81, Baseline 6 Phase 1 ships will be equipped with an enhanced
land-attack capability, provided by the installation of an "upgunned"
62-caliber version of the Mk45 shipboard 5-inch deck gun. The gun will be
capable of firing the extended-range guided munition (ERGM).
Baseline
6 Phase 3, which is targeted for DDGs 85 to 90, will introduce a second
adjunct processor to support the UYK-43 computer that controls the Aegis
weapon-control system and a third adjunct as an interface to the SPY-1
radar.
Baseline
6 Phase 3 provides Navy area TBMD capability, the Evolved SeaSparrow
Missile (ESSM), and a new variant of the SQQ-89 surface-ship antisubmarine
warfare (ASW) system. Baseline 6 Phase 3 also will support the newest
variant of the Standard missile family, the SM-2 Block IVA, for area TBMD.
Baseline
6 Phase 3 also will support the first installment of the Navy's cruiser
conversion plan, designated Baseline 6 Phase 3C, which will support
cruiser Baselines 3 and 4. Baseline 7 Phase 1C will support the Baseline 2
cruisers starting in fiscal year 2007. The plan currently is envisioned to
be implemented initially in FY 2004. Baseline 6 Phase 3 will support the
upgrade of the baseline destroyer variant program and an areaair-defense
capability (AADC) and serve as the foundation for the Navy's Block 1
theaterwide TBMD capability for the cruisers.
Baseline
7 Phase 1, for DDGs 91 through 101, fully eliminates the UYK-43 from the
Aegis weapon system, replacing it with an architecture of distributed
COTS-based microprocessors. Baseline 7 Phase 1 will receive the SPY-1D(V)
radar that provides enhanced detection over land and littoral waters and
in high jamming environments. Baseline 7 Phase 1 ships also will get the
Mk41 vertical-launch system upgrade, an upgraded sonar suite, designated
SQQ-89(V)15, an integrated Remote Minehunting Sonar (RMS) system, and the
Advanced Integrated Electronic Warfare System (AIEWS).
Because
of the software-integration challenge and funding constraints, the
land-attack capability may not be fully integrated until a future baseline
is adopted. The PEO in late 1999 was considering approaches to development
of a future Aegis baseline. Capabilities being discussed for a new
baseline are Tomahawk improvements, a Mk41 VLS upgrade, the SPQ-9B
air-search radar, and the lightweight hybrid torpedo.
Cooperative
Engagement Capability
"Cooperative
engagement," also referred to as sensor netting, will allow large
numbers of CEC-equipped surface ships and aircraft to operate as a single
"distributed" air-defense system capable of passing
fire-control-quality radar target measurements in real time across the
entire force. The CEC system features two primary components--a
cooperative engagement processor (CEP) and a data-distribution system
(DDS), which acts as the CEC communications relay--and a series of
modifications to already-fielded combat systems. The CEP and DDS both are
built by Raytheon Systems Company.
Rear
Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the Navy's director of surface warfare, said in
late 1999 that he considers CEC to be the "centerpiece for solving
our quest for the single integrated air picture," and that "no
other system ... has been engineered to achieve this vital warfighting
requirement."
In
CEC operations, radar measurement information on airborne targets from
shipboard air-search radars is provided to the CEP, which reformats the
data and sends it to the DDS. The DDS then encrypts and transmits the data
to other ships participating in the CEC network (referred to as CUs). In a
fraction of a second, the DDS receives all other CU data and forwards it
to the CEP. The CEP combines all of the unprocessed sensor-measurement
data into an identical air picture--consisting of continuous composite
tracks of all targets. The same picture then is available for display and
use by each individual platform's sensor and engagement systems. The DDS
uses a narrow directional signal that is highly resistant to jamming
and/or hostile intercept, and that allows simultaneous unit-to-unit
communications between and among the various CUs, permitting the DDS
output to be used as real-time fire control data. These data are passed to
the ship's combat system as fire-control-quality data that the ship can
use to engage targets without actually tracking them with its own radars.
The
CEC takes full advantage of the diverse range of capabilities achievable
by the participation of multiple ships equipped with multiple types of
sensors throughout the operating area. Combining the varying sensor inputs
available synergistically enhances the completeness of the common CEC data
picture--and thereby enhances the ability of the CEC-equipped ship to
track and destroy incoming ASMs. CEC provides a capability, referred to as
"engage on remote," whereby a ship that does not originate the
tracking data can launch missiles at targets within the weapons range
identified in the CEC composite track picture.
CEC
achieved initial operational capability in late 1996 with the USS Dwight
D. Eisenhower Battle Group. The Navy hopes to complete deployment of CEC
aboard aircraft carriers, Aegis cruisers and destroyers, selected classes
of amphibious ships (LPD 17s, LHDs, LHAs, and LSD 41s), and E-2C Hawkeye
aircraft by 2010.
The
initial CEC shipboard equipment set weighed 9,000 pounds but the latest
configuration--on the USS Wasp (LHD 1)--weighs less than 3,000 pounds; the
airborne variant weighs less than 700 pounds. Incorporation into CEC of
data from passive sensors such as the planned Advanced Integrated
Electronic Warfare System is anticipated, as is the use of satellites to
transmit CEC data.
CEC
is expected to provide sensor control, display control, composite
tracking, and doctrine management for a new ship self-defense system
architecture designated the Mk2 SSDS (Ship Self-Defense System) and
planned for aircraft carriers, Wasp-class LHDs, and the new San
Antonio-class LPDs. Because it provides real-time exchange of
fire-control-quality data, CEC also is considered a prerequisite for the
introduction of the Navy's area and theaterwide theater ballistic-missile
defense capabilities aboard the Aegis fleet of Ticonderoga-class CGs and
Arleigh Burke-class DDGs.
CEC
software consists of a software "kernel" of CEC application
programs and adaptive software "layers" that facilitate
integration of the CEC system with the Aegis, the advanced
combat-direction system (ACDS Block 1), and ICDS shipboard-combat systems.
The
integration of CEC with the Navy's fielded combat systems has proved to be
a complex engineering challenge because of the difficulty in incorporating
the newer CEC software with the older Aegis and ACDS Block 1 code. An
operational evaluation (OPEVAL) of the CEC Baseline 2 configuration
planned for summer 1998 was deferred to allow the Navy to stabilize the
integration of CEC with the Aegis combat system. The OPEVAL, now planned
for May 2001, is expected to demonstrate a comprehensive level of
interoperability among the CEC, Aegis, and SSDS systems.
The
Navy continues to evaluate various approaches to integrating CEC with
Aegis and the new Mk2 SSDS, both of which are introducing
commercial-off-the-shelf software.
The
complexity and cost of the integration of CEC hardware also varies among
the ship classes: some ships require a dual-antenna configuration. A new
UYQ-70 advanced display processor, which the Navy is buying from Lockheed
Martin Defense Systems, is a prerequisite for CEC installation.
Naval
Surface-Fire Support
The
Navy has initiated a program to dramatically improve its naval
surface-fire support (NSFS) capabilities to better support Marine and Army
forces in littoral campaigns ashore. NSFS capabilities currently are
limited to the Mk45 5-inch gun installed on the Navy's cruisers and
destroyers. The Mk45 fires conventional projectiles to a maximum range of
only 13 nautical miles and with less-than-acceptable accuracy.
Responding
to the longer-range NSFS requirements of the Marine Corps' new
"Operational Maneuver From the Sea" concept, the Navy set in
motion ambitious plans that will allow its frontline surface combatants to
provide timely, extended-range precision NSFS early in the next century.
The
Navy's near-term core program focuses on upgrading the existing 5-inch
54-caliber Mk45 gun on its cruisers and destroyers to fire a new
extended-range guided munition (ERGM) with nearly five times the range of
current 5-inch projectiles. The ERGM, in engineering-and-manufacturing
development at Raytheon Systems Company, will be a rocket-assisted
projectile with an approximate range of 63 nautical miles. This increased
range requires not only the use of an inflight rocket motor but also a
more energetic gun to fire the projectile with a higher muzzle velocity.
Under
a contract from the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), United Defense
Armament Systems is modifying the 5-inch gun to the Mk45 Mod 4 by
lengthening the gun's 54-caliber barrel (22.5 feet, or 54 times the
barrel's 5-inch inside diameter) to 62 caliber (25.8 feet). The Naval
Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division, in Indian Head, Md., is
developing a larger propelling charge.
Thanks
to the use of an onboard global positioning system/inertial navigation
system (GPS/INS), the all-weather ERGM will have an accuracy of 10 to 20
meters circular error probability compared with the 300- to 400-meter
accuracy of current 5-inch projectiles at maximum range. The ERGM round
will dispense 72 M80 submunitions to produce a circular destructive
pattern on the ground with a selectable diameter of 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100
meters. The small M80 grenade combines a shaped-charge light-armor
penetrator with antipersonnel blast-fragmentation effects.
The
ERGM is scheduled to become operational in late 2001 on the newer Burkes,
beginning with DDG 81. The Mk45 Mod 4 gun also could be backfitted on CGs
52 through 73, a total of 22 ships and 44 guns.
In a
complementary effort called the low-cost competent munition, the Office of
Naval Research (ONR) is working with Draper Laboratory to make the GPS/INS
guidance-and-control package for the 5-inch projectiles much smaller,
lighter, and cheaper than the one in ERGM's current design. The low-cost
competent munition guidance is a candidate for the planned ERGM upgrade.
The
Navy plans to develop a new 155mm gun to further enhance the NSFS
capabilities of its next-generation DD 21-class land-attack destroyer.
Dubbed the advanced gun system, it would use a single 155mm gun mounted on
the main deck.
The
gun, served by an automated magazine, would pump out 155mm guided
projectiles at a rate of 10-15 rounds per minute. Two of these guns will
be installed aboard each DD 21.
The
Navy also plans to acquire a VLS-fired supersonic land-attack missile,
currently called the Advanced Land-Attack Missile, for its Aegis and DD 21
ships. The two leading candidates are a naval version of Lockheed Martin
Vought Systems Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which would have a
range of 165 nautical miles, and a variant of the SM-2 Standard Block 3
air-defense missile, which could reach about 150 nautical miles.
System
control for the NSFS will be provided by a system now referred to as the
Surface Combatant Common Land-Attack Warfare System (SC-CLAWS). The system
would use the Tactical Tomahawk Weapon-Control System (TTWCS) now being
developed by Lockheed Martin Management and Data Systems to host the
software needed to provide control for both NSFS guns and missiles and to
integrate calls for fire from automated Marine Corps systems ashore. The
Navy hopes to field the SC-CLAWS on an incremental basis, possibly
starting in FY 2004.
Theater
Ballistic Missile Defense
The
Navy's TBMD program is aimed at providing a defense against enemy theater
ballistic missiles--now in the inventories of an estimated 15 nations and
continuing to proliferate worldwide. More than 25 nations are believed to
own or be capable of developing nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons
that could be deployed from TBMs.
Navy
TBMD is based on adding enhancements to the Aegis combat system now
deployed on Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) Aegis guided-missile cruisers and
Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) Aegis guided-missile destroyers, as well as to the
SM-2 Standard anti-air missiles launched from the Mk41 vertical launching
system. The Navy program consists of a "lower-tier" or
area-defense system, which is aimed at engaging and destroying TBMs within
the earth's atmosphere during their descent phase, and an
"upper-tier" theaterwide system designed for use against
missiles at "exoatmospheric" altitudes--i.e., beyond the
atmosphere--during the ascent as well as descent phases.
The
unique value provided by a Navy TBM system is that, in addition to the
considerable savings achieved by building on platforms and systems already
fielded, it could "leverage" the geographic advantage provided
by the forward deployment of the Aegis fleet. It then could provide the
capability to detect, identify, and engage TBMs long before they come
within range of defensive systems in closer geographic proximity to their
targets. The fielding of a TBMD system at sea aboard self-sustaining Aegis
ships also avoids the logistics constraints and support costs associated
with transporting a shore-based system, via sea or air, for installation
ashore. The theaterwide TBMD system, when linked to sea-, land-, and
space-based sensors, will be capable of intercepting TBMs in the ascent
phase long before they overfly the targets--which may or may not be
defended by land-based TBMD systems.
The
Navy's area (lower-tier) system would be achieved through guidance,
propulsion, and warhead upgrades to the SM-2 Block IV missile that would
produce a Block IVA missile fitted with an infrared (IR) seeker for the
precise targeting of a TBM's IR signature as it reenters the atmosphere. A
new dual-processor guidance unit uses target-detection software for the
analysis of targeting signals. The guidance unit consolidates the IR data
with radar data. Raytheon Systems Company is the prime contractor on both
variants of the SM-2.
The
Navy's theaterwide (upper-tier or exoatmospheric) system is based on the
use of a kinetic warhead (KW) that destroys targets on impact (rather than
by a fragmenting warhead's explosive force). The KW, which is being
developed by the contractor team of Raytheon and Boeing North American,
will be fitted to the theaterwide variant of the SM-2, designated SM-3. It
will be powered by a solid rocket divert and attitude-control system, and
will use a long-wave infrared focal-plane array for target acquisition and
discrimination as well as final guidance.
The
SM-3 missile will be powered through two propulsion stages by the Mk72
booster and the Mk104 dual-thrust rocket motor. A multipurpose third-stage
rocket motor provides additional velocity and reduces miss-distance to
enable the KW to achieve an intercept.
Between
1992 and 1995 the Navy demonstrated critical technologies for its
theaterwide program during at-sea flight testing using a modified Terrier
(SM-2 Block II ER) missile, also known as Terrier-LEAP (light
exoatmospheric projectile).
Following
an analysis of the Terrier-LEAP tests, and a review of the recommendations
of several Ballistic-Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) panels, the Navy
was directed to continue its development of a theaterwide TBMD capability.
The
initial phase, called Aegis LEAP Intercept (ALI), will consist of a series
of exoatmospheric intercept flight tests demonstrating the integration of
the Standard missile and Aegis weapon systems to intercept a target.
The
ALI program calls for a total of nine at-sea missile firings: two control
test vehicle (CTV) flights, both of which were completed in late 1999,
followed by seven flight-test round (FTR) launches. The first FTR launch
is tentatively planned for late 2000.
Command
and control for Navy TBMD will be provided by the integrated command,
control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance (C4ISR) architecture that will link all joint-service
theaterwide C4ISR assets, including fleet combat-direction systems,
tactical data links, the Navy's cooperative engagement capability (CEC),
and fleet and joint-service HF, UHF, VHF, and satellite communications
systems. The joint-service concept for TBMD is based on a three-tier
data-management architecture still being developed that consists of a
joint planning net (JPN), joint data net (JDN), and joint composite
tracking net (JCTN).
The
JPN is based on theaterwide C4I capabilities and will rely primarily on
tactical data links that link command-and-control platforms with weapons
platforms, such as Aegis ships (or Army or Air Force systems). The JCTN
represents the real-time linkage of systems such as CEC for the transfer
of weapons-engagement data. Continued development of the architecture
depends heavily on the success of the services' efforts, now underway, to
achieve joint-weapons and C4I interoperability.
The
Navy area TBMD program entered engineering-and-manufacturing development (EMD)
in February 1997. Area-TBMD software was installed aboard the Aegis
cruisers Lake Erie (CG 70) and Port Royal (CG 73) in September 1998. The
so-called Linebacker configuration provides a "contingency
capability," but is not fully integrated with the ships' Aegis combat
systems.
BMDO
plans several EMD missile launches at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M.,
during 2000-2001 and approximately 35 launches from the Lake Erie and Port
Royal in the fourth quarter of 2001. The Navy hopes to deploy a fully
operational system in 2003. The Navy theaterwide TBMD program is expected
to enter EMD after FY 2000 but before FY 2005.
Mine
Warfare
The
Navy introduced a plan last year to augment the organic
mine-countermeasures capability of carrier battle groups (CVBGs) following
a year-long "Force 21" study of the optimum mix of dedicated and
CVBG-organic MCM assets. The goal of the plan is to enable battle groups
to carry out a larger share of mine-countermeasures operations, using
battle-group assets, prior to the arrival of slower-moving Avenger-class
MCMs and Osprey-class MHCs.
The
primary organic MCM assets planned for CVBGs are the Remote Minehunting
System (a remotely operated vehicle) and the CH-60 Knight-hawk helicopter,
a marinized Army Black Hawk helicopter to be deployed on carriers,
amphibious assault ships, and oilers. The CH-60 will be fitted with the
Airborne Laser Mine-Detection System (ALMDS), Rapid Airborne
Mine-Clearance System (RAMICS), AQS-20X Sonar, an Airborne
Mine-Neutralization System (AMNS), and a Shallow-Water Influence
Minesweeping System.
The
Navy also is developing new minehunting systems and enhancing older ones.
The SQQ-32 minehunting sonar, a variable-depth system, is in service
aboard the Avenger and Osprey classes. The system consists of shipboard
displays, a low-frequency detection sonar built by Raytheon (the prime
contractor), and a high-frequency classification sonar built by Thomson
Sintra ASM. Both sonars are housed in the towed sonar body. In minehunting
operations, the detection sonar searches for "mine-like"
objects; the classification sonar then provides a high-resolution acoustic
image of the object or objects detected. The SQQ-32 also can be used from
the ship's hull in shallow waters.
The
SLQ-48 Mine-Neutralization System (MNS) consists of two shipboard consoles
and a remotely operated electro-hydraulic submersible mine-neutralization
vehicle (MNV) equipped with a low-light TV camera, high-resolution sonar,
and the ability to deliver three types of explosive charges (mission
packages 1, 2, or 3) to neutralize all types of maritime mines.
The
MNV is employed in conjunction with the SQQ-32 aboard the Avenger and
Osprey classes. When deployed, the MNV is guided by commands from the
launch ship via an umbilical cable and can be effective at speeds up to
six knots. Following detection and classification of a mine-like object by
the SQQ-32 sonar, the MNV is maneuvered close to the suspected mine to
make positive identification. It then may engage the mine by deploying one
of the three mission packages. Mission Package 1 is an explosive cutter
used to cut the cable of a moored mine (to allow it to rise to the
surface). Mission Package 2 is an explosive bomblet charge deployed to
neutralize a bottom mine. Mission Package 3 is a buoyant explosive charge
attached to a mine-mooring cable and would be exploded to render the mine
inert. The prime contractor is Raytheon Naval and Maritime Systems.
The
AQS-20X airborne mine-detection sonar is being developed by Raytheon
Electronic Systems for rapid minefield reconnaissance and detection,
localization, and classification of bottom, close-tethered, and volume
mines. The Navy plans to deploy the AQS-20X from CH-60 helicopters. Work
started in mid-1999 on design and development of a laser-based
identification sensor, a Knighthawk-compatible airborne operator station,
and mission-interface removable hardware. Production on the entire system
is scheduled to begin in 2003.
The
Remote Minehunting System (RMS), designated WLD-1, is an off-board,
remotely controlled, semisubmersible with a variable-depth sensor body
used to detect, localize, and identify mines. The RMS, developed by
Lockheed Martin Ocean, Radar & Sensor Systems, will be integrated with
the Navy's SQQ-89 surface-ship sonar system on Flight IIA Arleigh
Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyers and will also be fielded on
other future classes of surface ships.
The
Airborne Laser Mine-Detection System (ALMDS) is expected to provide rapid
and cost-effective detection, classification, and localization of floating
and near-surface moored sea mines.
An
electro-optic system, it will represent the first new mine-hunting
technology delivered for U.S. Navy fleet use since the introduction of
sonar. The ALMDS program already has completed its program-definition and
risk-reduction (PDRR) phase, during which two advanced-development models
(ADMs) were built by Kaman Aerospace Corp. The ADMs were extensively
tested and delivered for contingency use to HSL-94, a Naval Reserve SH-2G
helicopter squadron. The Navy intends to award an EMD competitive contract
in FY 2000 to build two production-representative Engineering Development
Models (EDMs) to be tested in 2002. Production is set to begin in 2004.
The
Navy is conducting an advanced technology demonstration of the RAMICS, an
airborne weapon system that integrates a light detection-and-ranging (LIDAR)
sensor and a 20mm cannon that fires a supercavitating projectile that is
designed to be capable of rapidly destroying near-surface moored mines.
The
RAMICS will be operated from a fast-moving helicopter. The LIDAR is
employed to detect the mine. It then passes aiming coordinates to the gun,
which fires bursts of 25 projectiles at the mine. A prototype gun has been
tested at sea. The Navy plans to carry out flight-system integration and
flight tests by the end of 2000, using the AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter
gunship.
The
AMNS is a remotely operated expendable neutralization device that will be
employed by helicopters to neutralize--with explosives--"proud"
moored, and volume sea mines that are impractical or unsafe to counter
using existing mine-disposal techniques. The system will have a
day-or-night, shallow- and deep-water capability. Prior to the
neutralization mission, a minehunting sonar or
electro-optic system will have accomplished mine detection, localization,
and classification. The AMNS will be flown to the mine location, where it
will deploy its expendable neutralization vehicle to reacquire the target
and place a self-contained bulk or shaped charge at the most effective
position to neutralize the threat mine. Beginning in 2001, the AMNS will
be modified for installation aboard a CH-60, with testing to start in
2002. The Navy hopes to start production of the AMNS in 2003.
The
SWIMS is a self-contained system designed to carry out high-speed magnetic
or magnetic/acoustic influence mine-sweeping missions in shallow waters.
The system consists of a towed magnetic and acoustic source, a tow/power
delivery cable, a power conditioning-and-control subsystem, and an
external or palletized power supply. It is capable of being towed at
speeds up to 40 knots, which provides for a large area-coverage rate. It
can be transported in the helicopter, allowing for fast transit to
over-the-horizon operating areas. The magnetic portion is ten feet long,
20 inches in diameter, and weighs approximately 1,000 pounds. The SWIMS is
deployed from the helicopter by a standard tow cable when the helicopter
reaches the area of operation. The SWIMS is compatible with current and
future acoustic sweeping devices and also requires no new equipment to
interface with the helicopter. The Navy plans to award an EMD contract in
2000, aiming at development of a system that will be compatible with
surface craft and remotely controlled vehicles. The prototype will be
tested in 2003, with production to follow.
The
Shallow-water Assault Breaching (SABRE) system and distributed explosive
technology (DET) programs are under development at the Naval Surface
Warfare Center (NSWC) facility in Indian Head, Md., and at the NSWC
Coastal Systems Station in Panama City, Fla.
The
SABRE is a single rocket-deployed linear demolition charge. The DET is a
dual rocket-deployed explosive net. Both systems are launched from the
deck of an air-cushion landing craft (LCAC) operating in the surf near the
beach. SABRE neutralizes mines and light obstacles in 3-to-10 feet of
water; DET neutralizes mines in the 0-to-3-feet water depth.
One
LCAC can carry two DETs on the bow and nine SABREs behind it or 12 SABREs
and no DETs. Several successful tests have been conducted with these
systems, including multiple flights of inert systems from LCACs at sea and
live-explosive system flights from land into a test pond. Operational
testing for SABRE and DET was carried out in FY 1999. An LCAC autopilot
also is being developed to enhance mission effectiveness, speed, and
survivability during lane breaching and cleared-lane navigation. Inert
SABRE and DET-type systems launched from longer ranges by larger rockets,
a computerized fire-control system, and deployment of a beach-zone array
net from a glider for mine neutralization on the beach have also been
developed and tested under an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD)
program.
SQQ-89
Surface-Ship Antisubmarine Warfare System
The
SQQ-89 ASW system represents the integration of the active/passive SQS-53C
hull-mounted sonar, the SQQ-28 sonobuoy processor, and the SQR-19 passive
towed-array sonar for the Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) Aegis guided-missile
cruisers and
Spruance-class (DD 963) destroyers. The SQS-53C is a system enhancement to
the SQS-26 hull-mounted active sonar, which was introduced in the 1960s.
The SQQ-28 manages the downlinking of acoustic data provided by sonobuoys,
which are deployed from SH-60B Light Airborne Multipurpose System (LAMPS)
Mk III antisubmarine-warfare helicopters. The SQR-19 has been eliminated
from the system for the early Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) Aegis
guided-missile destroyers.
The
heart of the SQQ-89 is the Mk116 control system, which processes acoustic
data received by the three sonar systems for use in the development of
firing solutions for ASW weapons. The Mk 116 also integrates the acoustic
data with air-search data provided by shipboard radars and sensors to
provide comprehensive displays of target tracks that are shown on the Mk
116 display consoles.
The
SQQ-89 has been fielded in numerous variants that provide different levels
of capability, depending on the class. The Navy's Program Executive Office
for Undersea Warfare (PEO USW/PMS-411, the surface-ship undersea-warfare
combat-systems program office) is working to transition the system from
the current-generation computing architecture--which is based on
Navy-unique 1980s-vintage UYK-43 computers--to an architecture of
commercial-off-the-shelf processors. The shift to COTS is aimed primarily
at reducing acquisition and life-cycle costs, while preserving current
levels of performance.
Lockheed
Martin Ocean, Radar & Sensor Systems is under contract to PMS-411 for
production of the partly COTS SQQ-89(V)14 and the mostly COTS SQQ-89(V)15
systems scheduled for installation aboard Burke-class DDGs. When the
transition is complete, the (V)15 system is expected to reduce the
system's weight from about 47,200 pounds for the (V)14 to 38,200 for the
(V)15, and slash the number of MILSPEC circuit boards from 2,560 to three.
The SQQ-89(V)15 is expected to be installed first on DDG 91.
Ship
Self-Defense
For
most non-Aegis frontline surface ships, the Navy is fielding the highly
automated Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS) designed--through the
"fusion" of data provided by multiple own-ship sensors--to
provide a rapid-reaction anti-air defense capability against the
high-speed, low-flying antiship missiles that are now in the inventories
of many potentially hostile nations. Raytheon Naval & Maritime Systems
is the prime contractor and systems integrator.
The
SSDS program was restructured in late 1998 to produce a new system,
designated the SSDS Mk2, with the goal of achieving a higher level of
overall systems interoperability among combat-systems elements than was
possible with the previous configuration.
The
new SSDS architecture will be based on the integration of the SSDS Mk1
system, which already has been installed aboard several Whidbey
Island-class (LSD 41) dock landing ships, the cooperative engagement
capability (CEC), and the Block 1 advanced combat-direction system (ACDS).
The ACDS system still is controlled by older Navy-unique UYK-43 computers;
the SSDS is based primarily on commercial processing and network
technology.
The
key modification for the SSDS Mk2 configuration is the incorporation into
the system of five ACDS functions: command support; air control; tactical
datalink control; electronic warfare; and system track, classification,
and identification. The Mk2 architecture transitions the Navy-unique
"legacy" software to new commercially based higher-order
software. The UYK-43 computer will be phased out of the system.
The
SSDS Mk2 is planned in varying configurations for fielding aboard selected
aircraft carriers, the Wasp-class amphibious assault ships, and the
new-build San Antonio-class LPDs. Whidbey Island-class ships will receive
the SSDS Mk1 system.
The
Mk1 and Mk2 systems are based on the integration, by means of a
fiber-optic local area network (LAN), of shipboard air-defense sensors and
weapons with a redundant "distributed" processor architecture
and the UYQ-70 advanced display system, which is based on COTS technology.
In
the SSDS architecture, each weapon and sensor incorporated into the system
is linked to a processor, referred to as a LAN access unit (LAU), which is
networked with the SSDS LAN and to either a sensor/integration console
system or a weapon/integration console system--all of which are accessible
to the tactical action officer (TAO) in the ship's combat-information or
combat-direction center. The SSDS Mk1 weapon configuration consists of the
RIM-116 rolling airframe missile (RAM Block 0 or Block 1) and the Phalanx
Close-In Weapon System. The system also incorporates the SLQ-32 electronic
warfare system and the Phalanx radar. The SSDS Mk2 adds another sensor,
the SPQ-9B air-search radar, and also incorporates a "re-architected"
NATO SeaSparrow and Block 1 RAM.
Other
sensors intended to be integrated on the SSDS ships include the SPS-48E
and SPS-49 radars and possibly an electro-optical/infrared-image sensor.
The SLQ-32 is scheduled to be replaced by the Advanced Integrated
Electronic Warfare System (AIEWS) now being developed by Sanders.
The
SSDS Mk2 will be capable of incorporating additional sensors and weapons,
or system upgrades, by adding new LAUs. In effect, the SSDS architecture
reflects a building-block concept that "doesn't care" which
sensors and weapons are linked to it. The SSDS provides the systems
integration needed to dramatically reduce the time required for the target
detection, identification, tracking, and engagement sequence. The system
has been designed to operate under manual control or in several modes of
semi-
automatic control.
Testing
of the new architecture will be carried out at a new integrated
ship-defense engineering center scheduled for completion at Wallops
Island, Va., in January 2000.
The
Mk2 system will be fielded initially to the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) for testing in 2001, and
subsequently will be backfitted aboard carriers and LHDs and installed
aboard the San Antonio-class LPDs during construction.
Surface
Combatant Modernization
The
Navy plans a dramatic long-term modernization of its surface combatant
force over the next 20 years. The service, positioning itself as an
essential player in future U.S. joint-service operations overseas, is
committed to adapting its ships to support land campaigns in regional
conflicts.
The
Navy's 1999 posture statement described a requirement for a Navy of at
least 300 ships, including 12 aircraft carriers, 50 attack submarines, 14
strategic ballistic-missile submarines, and 116 surface combatants. To
sustain these levels, the Navy says that it must achieve a building rate
of eight-to-ten ships per year. It stated further that a current and
projected building rate of six-to-eight ships will not support the minimum
essential force levels for a 300-ship navy.
Current
projections over the Future-Years Defense Plan (FYDP) provide an average
of 7.8 ships per year, but the Navy points out that that average is based
in part on nine ships--four of which are new auxiliaries (T-AD(X)s)--planned
for FY 2005.
Chief
of Naval Operations Adm. Jay Johnson has said that he would be extremely
uncomfortable with a force of fewer than 300 ships, including 116 surface
combatants, the level recommended in the 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review.
Additional funds would have to be restored to procurement accounts to
maintain that level.
The
Navy hopes that the reduced size of the surface fleet will be offset by
production of newer and more capable ships, particularly by additional DDG
51 Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyers. The Navy plans to
order a total of 57 DDG 51s through fiscal year 2003, with the last
joining the fleet about 2009. The DDG 51s and the Navy's existing 27 CG 47
Ticonderoga-class Aegis guided-missile cruisers are the mainstays of the
surface combatant fleet and will be the dominant ships in the fleet until
2028.
Capitalizing
on the anti-air warfare (AAW) growth capabilities resident in its Aegis
cruisers and destroyers, the Navy initiated efforts in the early 1990s to
add theater ballistic-missile defense (TBMD) capabilities to those ships
early in the 21st century. Long-range missile launches both by North Korea
and Iran have brought a new sense of urgency to Navy TBMD programs. The
Navy also is now developing new shipboard land-attack weapons for its
Aegis ships to improve their ability to provide long-range, high-volume
fire support for Marine and Army forces ashore. Meanwhile, antisubmarine
warfare remains a high priority for the surface fleet, and new
multimission surface combatants still will represent a dominant
sea-control force.
The
Navy's surface warfare goal is to create "an offensive maritime force
that conducts precision land attack and [provides] theater air dominance
as part of joint, allied, and coalition forces." The emphasis is on
distributing offensive firepower across the fleet, as well as improving
surface combatant AAW--and adding new TBMD--capabilities in littoral
areas. Under a new concept called "network-centric warfare,"
surface combatants and other naval warfare platforms will be seamlessly
linked with one another, and with other theater and national sensors, in a
real-time network through advanced technologies, such as those used in the
Navy's CEC program.
The
surface Navy crafted a three-part plan last year to achieve this 21st-
century vision--through both evolutionary and revolutionary changes. Its
short-term goal until 2008 is to modernize its existing Aegis ships so
that they will remain effective well into the next century. Two key
enablers are the growth capabilities inherent in the Aegis AAW combat
system and the flexibility of the Mk41 vertical-launch system (VLS) on the
Aegis ships.
The
cruiser conversion is scheduled for 22 of the 27 Ticonderogas to ensure
that their combat systems remain capable of integrating new weapons,
sensors, and computer technology beyond 2000. The conversion will include
the introduction of "Smart Ship" technology as well as the
area-air defense capability (AADC) suite that will enable them to operate
as joint air defense planning centers.
The
mid-term (20092020) segment of the surface Navy's plan calls for
introduction to the fleet of an advanced new land-attack destroyer, the DD
21, that will complement the Aegis cruisers and destroyers.
The
DD 21 also holds the key to fundamental changes in ship operating and
deployment patterns. The ship will be manned by only 95 personnel. In
addition to cutting ship life-cycle costs, the reduction in crew size will
make it possible to use two or more rotational crews. Coupled with the DD
21's reduced shipyard maintenance requirements, this will enable the ships
to remain on station overseas for two or three years, breaking the
historical need--based on deployment transit times, fleet maintenance, and
training requirements--to have four or five ships in the force to support
each one deployed.
The
surface Navy's far-term vision, for 2021 and beyond, calls for
construction of a second-generation 21st-century surface combatant--(CG
21) to replace the Aegis cruisers. It is envisioned as a modular ship.
Combat system modules could potentially be added or removed to reconfigure
the ship's mission capabilities.
Integrated
Defensive Electronic Countermeasures System
The
Naval Air Systems Command is developing an Integrated Defensive
Electronic-Countermeasures (IDECM) system planned for installation
primarily aboard the Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter. A
central element of the IDECM suite is a radio frequency countermeasures (RFCM)
system designated the ALQ-214.
The
IDECM/RFCM also will be purchased by the Air Force for its B-1B bomber and
F-15E Strike Eagle fighter.
The
IDECM/RFCM will fill the gap in electronic-warfare (EW) capability created
by the termination in the early 1990s of a Navy program to develop an
ALQ-165 jammer to replace the aging ALQ-126B electronic-warfare system.
On
the F/A-18E/F the IDECM/RFCM is required to be capable of responding
automatically, without being cued by the pilot, to detected threat
emitters. The system will consist both of newly developed components and
EW hardware now currently in service, integrated with new software
developed by Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company. The RFCM system is
integrated with the aircraft's ALR-67(V)3 radar-warning receiver, mission
computer, and decoy launch controller.
Raytheon's
Sensors and Electronic Systems business unit builds the improved
multifunction launch controller, which controls the launch of decoys from
the ALE-47 decoy dispenser.
The
IDECM/RFCM integrates two other systems: the Advanced Strategic-Tactical
Expendable (ASTE) kinematic decoy being developed by the Air Force, and
the Common Missile-Warning System (CMWS), both built by Sanders. The CMWS
is a subsystem of the Advanced Tactical Infrared Countermeasures (ATIRCM)
system being built for the Army.
The
RFCM combines a state-of-the-art onboard techniques generator and an
offboard fiber-optic towed decoy. The decoy will contain a transmitter
that emits a jamming signal to counter enemy emitters, including radars
and missile seekers.
Sanders
is acting as prime contractor and systems integrator for the IDECMS/RFCM
and is responsible for the offboard fiber-optic towed decoy and the decoy
subsystem. ITT Avionics is building the onboard techniques generator
portion of the system, which consists of the receiver, modulator,
processor, and onboard transmitters.
The
IDECM/RFCM elements are going through the final stages of
systems-integration testing at Sanders and developmental flight testing at
the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, Calif. The team has built 26
of the ITT-designed techniques generators and delivered 13, and has
delivered 26 of a total of 400 decoys that the services expect to purchase
for the developmental program. Final delivery of IDECM components is
linked to the production schedule for each of its independently developed
elements.
The
schedules for the CMWS, ASTE, and the RFCM system are scheduled to
converge in 2003, and full IDECM suite integration is expected to start
that same year. Limited production of the RFCM system is scheduled to
start in early FY 2001 to meet the Navy's schedule for F/A-18E/F
production.
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