Aegis Open Architecture green lighted by U.S. Navy

Lockheed Martin recently received final approval from the U.S. Navy to proceed with the integration and shipboard installation of the world’s first, fully-open architecture Aegis weapon system for a major surface warship. Aegis Open Architecture is a weapon system that can absorb frequent technology refreshes and upgrades in capabilities, both from new development and separate third party products.

Aegis Open Architecture is a weapon system that can absorb frequent technology refreshes and upgrades in capabilities, both from new development and separate third party products. It accomplishes this by using commonly available off-the-shelf computing hardware and open system software.

Aegis is the weapon system of choice for the U.S., Australia, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Spain. It seamlessly integrates the SPY-1 radar, the MK 41 Vertical Launching System, SM-2 and SM-3 missiles and the weapon system's command and control system. It is currently deployed on 85 ships internationally, with more than 20 additional ships planned or under contract. The U.S. Navy plans to begin a modernization program similar to the Aegis Open Architecture scheme for the 62-ship class of Aegis-equipped Arleigh Burke destroyers in 2012.

The USS Bunker Hill is the first of 22 cruisers scheduled to receive Aegis Open Architecture over the next ten years.

"Aegis Open Architecture will continue to keep a force of 84 U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers - and dozens of allied Aegis-equipped ships - relevant and at the forefront of technology for the extent of their ship life," said Orlando Carvalho, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Surface-Sea Based Missile Defense line of business. "Providing this transformation is the result of thorough systems engineering and close collaboration with the Navy and multiple innovative business partners to replace custom designed software with open architecture software."