Argon ST in Fairfax, VA received a $36.9 million contract for low-rate initial production of the US Navy’s Ship’s Signal Exploitation Equipment (SSEE) Increment F system.
The base contract also includes priced options to allow the government to procure full-rate production units over a 4-year period beginning in 2011
The SSEE is a signals exploitation system that provides ship commanders with threat ID information. It allows the operators to monitor and analyze signals of interest within the Ship’s Signals Exploitation Space (SSES) aboard a variety of ship classes…
The SLR-25(V)2 SSEE developed from the AN/SSQ-80 Local Monitoring Subsystem (LMS) and the TRUMP system that provided the LMS with a basic cryptologic analysis capability.
The SSEE system’s capability to detect, identify, and locate targets near to and over the horizon contribute to a ship’s C2 capability and IW operations.
The LRIP option award results from the program achieving Milestone C. Argon ST won the competitive bid for the SDD phase in April 2006 and built an engineering development model system that was installed for ship-based testing. The system successfully completed an operational assessment late in 2009.
The Argon ST SSEE team includes Raytheon, Cubic Defense Applications, TICOM Geomatics, Northrop Grumman TASC, Digital Receiver Technology, and ARINC Engineering Services.
Argon also supplies the SSEE Increment E [pdf] system to the US Navy, US Coast Guard, and Royal Australian Navy.
SSEE Phase 1 is installed on 1 command ship, the USS Mount Whitney [LCC-20] and 3 amphibious assault ships. SSEE Increment B is fielded on 14 Ticonderoga [CG-47] Aegis cruisers, 13 Spruance-class [DD-963] destroyers, the USS Blue Ridge [LCC-19], and 1 Wasp [LHD-1] amphibious assault ship.
SSEE Increment D(2) is fielded on 11 CG-47 cruisers and 1 amphibious command ship. Increment D(3) deliveries began in FY 2001.