Ford-class Ship Self Defense System undergoes first live test

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Raytheon and the U.S. Navy completed the first test of the Ship Self Defense System Integrated Combat System aboard the first of the new class of aircraft carriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford.

The newest generation of Raytheon's Ship Self Defense System successfully engaged in its first live-fire test of an unmanned aerial vehicle target off the coast of California aboard USS Gerald R. Ford.

The test -- against an unmanned aerial vehicle target off the coast of California -- was the first of several live fire events planned for the ship and it's new ICS this year, Raytheon said Tuesday in a press release.

"The design of our Ship Self Defense System enabled seamless integration of the sensors and missiles with the CVN 78 combat system during this first-of-its-kind test, proving the ability of the system to defend our sailors," Mike Fabel, Raytheon's SSDS program manager, said in a statement. "This integrated combat system success brings Ford one step closer to operational testing and deployment."

The Ship Self Defense System processed the cooperative engagement capability data, determined the appropriate engagement ranges, passed launch commands to the missile and scheduled dual band radar support for the engagement, Raytheon said.

The Ford-class ships will contain Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles and Rolling Airframe Missiles, according to the U.S. Navy.

The Ford was formally commissioned into the Navy on July 22, 2017, and is projected to be deployed around 2020, following further testing. The other class ships being built are the John F. Kennedy and the Enterprise. Also, the unnamed CVN 81 is planned.

The Ford class of ships are the first new design for an aircraft carrier since the Nimitz-class debuted in 1975.

The ship, built by Huntington Ingall Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, will have a crew of approximately 4,550 and carry 75 or more aircraft.