TUCSON, Ariz., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A Raytheon Company Evolved
SEASPARROW Missile (ESSM) was successfully launched for the first time July 23
from a U.S. Navy surface combatant, the USS SHOUP (DDG 86), destroying the
incoming target.
In the test, ESSM was launched from a Mk41 Vertical Launch System aboard
the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. The closure rate between
the missile and the target, a BQM-74, approached Mach 3. The ship was
operating on the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division sea range near
Point Mugu, Calif.
"This was the first ESSM firing from an AEGIS destroyer, first firing from
a Mk41 at sea, first firing using a U.S. Navy crew, first ESSM firing using
AEGIS Baseline-6 Phase III, and demonstrates ESSM is ready for the OPEVAL
firings planned for the second quarter of next year from this same ship," said
Capt. Ken Graber, the NATO SEASPARROW program manager. "The ship, commanded
by Cmdr. E.B. Carter, and crew are to be commended for this outstanding
achievement."
"This test, in conjunction with the successful firings over the last six
months from the Self Defense Test Ship, demonstrates ESSM is the right choice
for the Aegis Weapon System community as well as other weapon systems to meet
current and future ship self-defense requirements," said Gary Hagedon,
Raytheon's ESSM program manager.
The NATO SEASPARROW Consortium is a model program for multinational
cooperative development. Raytheon's Missile Systems business unit is leading
the team of 18 companies from 10 countries in developing and producing this
next-generation SEASPARROW ship self-defense system. One aspect that makes
the ESSM program unique is that the design responsibility for each subsystem
is vested in the industrial partner producing that assembly rather than at the
prime level.
ESSM is an advanced ship self-defense missile, designed to protect ships
by destroying currently fielded and near-term projected anti-ship missiles,
particularly those that fly at low altitudes and maneuver during their
terminal flight phase.
Raytheon is developing ESSM at its Missile Systems business unit in
Tucson, Ariz., under a U.S. Navy contract for low-rate initial production. It
is being developed for the Navy and nine of the other 11 member nations of the
NATO SEASPARROW Consortium: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, the
Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Turkey. Other nations also are considering
ESSM for their ship self-defense needs.
With headquarters in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is a
global technology leader in defense, government and commercial electronics,
and business and special mission aircraft.
Contact:
Sara Hammond
520.794.7810
SOURCE Raytheon Company
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Related links:
http://www.raytheon.com
CONTACT:
Sara Hammond of Raytheon Company,
+1-520-794-7810
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