NATO Sea Sparrow

Abstract

This project encompasses five (5) primary efforts to enhance ship self-defense: 1. Evolved SEASPARROW Missile (ESSM) Blk 1 is a cooperative effort among 10 NATO SEASPARROW Nations and the U.S. to provide crucial defense battlespace and fire power against the fast, low altitude, highly maneuverable Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) threat. Modifications were made to both the MK 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) to fire from a single cell with 4 ESSM (QuadPack) and the NATO SEASPARROW Surface Missile System (NSSMS), fielding ESSM Blk 1 onboard CVN 68, LHD 1, LHA 7, CG 47, and DDG 51 class ships. ESSM Blk 1 integration efforts continue to bring the capability to CVN 78 and DDG 1000. Testing scheduled for FY18 includes ESSM Blk 1 firings from the Self Defense Test Ship in support of DDG 1000 class integration, AEGIS B/L 9C2 live fire testing, and Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trials live fire tests aboard CVN 72 and LHD 2. 2. NATO SEASPARROW Technical Direction Agent (TDA) - TDA support for the NSSMS Mk 57 Mods 12-15 which is integrated with the Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) Mk 2 to provide ship missile defense utilizing an open architected design on all CVN, LHA, and LHD class ships. A Missile Launcher Upgrade (MLU) is scheduled for Mk 57 platforms making each upgraded ship ESSM Blk 1 and ESSM Blk 2 capable. 3. ESSM Blk 2 Risk Reduction/ESSM Blk 2 Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD): ESSM Blk 2 upgrade is a cooperative effort between U.S Navy and NATO SEASPARROW Consortium Nations. ESSM Blk 2 upgrade replaces the largely obsolete guidance section with a dual mode Active/Semi-Active X-Band seeker capable of defeating future threat capabilities within the existing envelope, including; smaller signatures, increased raid sizes, and adverse environments including countermeasures. Threat types include: advanced ASCMs, Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles, surface and asymmetrical. The U.S. RDT&E funding accounts for 40% of the overall ESSM Blk 2 Development Program. Year-to-year fluctuations in funding levels are due to the variations in contributions provided by the other Nations. Through FY17, the US has funded approximately 25% of the total effort, driving the US portion of the EMD annual cost to 79% from FY18 - FY20. 4. Dual-Band Transceiver (DBT). The ESSM Blk 2 missile will utilize a DBT for in-flight data communications. This two-way datalink enables control and management of the missile during flight. This DBT leverages the new DDG 1000 / CVN 78 X-Band Transceiver to incorporate the functions to support S-Band Aegis data link (i.e. a Dual Band Transceiver). This resolves S-band obsolescence issues and provides a common transceiver across the ESSM inventory. 5. Transition to Production (TTP). Transition to Production execution ensures the design (Hardware, Software, Test Equipment, Production Tooling, etc.), defined during the E&MD Phase is successfully transitioned out of the engineering environment into a stable and capable production/manufacturing environment. During the early phase of Block 1 production the program experienced a series of 'process control failures' and 'production stoppages' leading to a "Blue Team" assessment and findings. One of the key underlying conditions identified as contributing to the discrepancies above was "incomplete transition to production activities and inadequate systems engineering." The Block 2 TTP phase of program execution exists to address the shortfalls identified in the "Blue Team" report and to ensure the requisite resources are in place to support the program as design activities end and Low Rate Initial Production(LRIP) begins to deliver missiles at a rate commensurate with the requirements of LRIP and Full Rate Production (FRP).

Document Details

• Document Type: Project
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2019
• Source ID: 0173_0604756N_5_1319_PB_2019

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