WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI) -- The latest sea trials of open-architecture software for the Aegis Weapon System involved simulated engagements involving electronic countermeasures.
Lockheed Martin reported Monday that the tests aboard the destroyer USS Bainbridge proved the Aegis' Spy-1D(V) radar's ability to acquire and track various targets despite a cloud of countermeasures aimed at confusing the ship's Standard Missile system.
"This at-sea test is a significant milestone that clearly demonstrated the realization of the promise of Aegis Open Architecture," said Cmdr. John Ailes of the U.S. Navy's Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems. "It showed that Open SPY radar control program that was developed for ... ships in support of cruiser modernization can be rapidly and easily adapted for the destroyer's SPY-1D(V) radar system."
The SPY-1D(V) upgrade's the Aegis' ability to fend off low-altitude targets amid countermeasure clutter and includes enhanced moving-target indicators.
Open Architecture is a cornerstone of the Navy's plans to modernize its fleet of Aegis cruisers and destroyers, ships that happen to be the basis of the seagoing missile-defense system. The strategy will allow the Navy to update its software systems more rapidly and on more ships at the same.
The transition is scheduled to begin in 2008 with an upgrade to the cruiser USS Bunker Hill.
The Bainbridge won't be keeping the new software, however. Lockheed said it would be replaced with a deployment-qualified package before its next voyage.
