Self-Defence Capabilities Against Anti-Ship Missile Attack

The US Navy (USN) has selected Lockheed Martin as the next Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA), the company announced on 20 August.

SSDS is a combat direction system that provides capabilities for defence against Anti-Ship Missile (ASCM) attacks for carrier and large-deck amphibious ships classes. Under this contract, Lockheed Martin will evolve the SSDS combat system, beginning with SSDS Build 12, providing new capability upgrades and maintaining SSDS in-service baselines.

“The Lockheed Martin CSEA team recognizes the critical role the aircraft carrier plays in American power projection and the central role large-deck amphibious ships serve in defense of our nation and our allies,” commented the company’s Vice President, Naval Combat and Missile Defense Systems, Jim Sheridan. “These missions require the highest standards of systems engineering, performance analysis, software development, integration and test to deliver an integrated Ship Self Defense System.”

As the AEGIS CSEA, Lockheed Martin has experience in successfully delivering integrated combat systems for US and international navies. It developed the Common Source Library (CSL), which enables efficient deployment of common software solutions across the surface fleet, with variation techniques to customise for particular configurations. Through this approach, Lockheed Martin has delivered weapon systems for the Littoral Combat Ship and the US Coast Guard that are derived from USN AEGIS investment.