Aegis Tracks Missile Despite Counter Measures

AEGIS Combat System(click to view full) A Lockheed Aegis SPY-1D radar on board the USS Russell (DDG 59) Arleigh Burke Class destroyer successfully found and tracked a target missile needle from among a haystack of countermeasures, according to the contractor. The test, conducted just off of Hawaii, was part of the Critical Measurement and Counter-Measurements Program, an effort to introduce more stressful environment and battle conditions to equipment tests. The AEGIS radar and combat system is now in its seventh generation, with the latest version arriving in February 2005. The most recent version of the AEGIS system is currently in use on 10 American vessels, with 8 more slated to be upgraded in the near term. Lockheed Martin’s AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense system, easily the most sophisticated ship-borne BMD yet deployed, extends the radar’s range, adds key functions like Cooperative Engagement Capability, and includes other enhancements. It is designed to work with the extended range SM-3 Standard missile.