MOORESTOWN, N.J., June 9 (UPI) -- The last of five Aegis weapons systems built for the Norwegian navy was completed Friday.
A "pull-the-plug" ceremony was held at Lockheed Martin's Moorestown, N.J., as the SPY-1F Aegis Weapon System was readied for shipment to a shipyard in Spain where the frigate Thor Heyerdahl is being built.
The Heyerdahl is the fifth ship in the $2.4 billion Norwegian new frigate program. The first vessel in the class, the KNM Fridtjof Nansen, was commissioned in April.
The frigate was not built without controversy as critics questioned the need for a robust anti-submarine ship in a post-Cold War world in which Soviet subs no longer posed much of a threat.
There were also questions about the role the ships might play in a U.S. missile-defense strategy that in part involves Aegis systems. Military analysts point out that the SPY-1F is a smaller version of the anti-missile Aegis and does not include the equipment and software needed for anti-missile operations.
The ship, however, is considered capable of being upgraded to a missile-defense role if it is ever needed.
The SPY-1F is, however, perfectly capable of standard air-defense and surface warfare operations, including the firing of the Standard Missile-2 and the Evolved SEASPARROW anti-ship missile.
NATO and the U.S. Navy this week awarded Raytheon a $21.5 million contract for the MK 57 and MK 29 SEASPARROW systems.
