Aegis combat system

Aegis Operations Center

US Navy cruiser Ticonderoga , the first warship equipped with the Aegis combat system

US Navy destroyer Mustin of the Arleigh Burke- class

Aegis test installation on the test ship Norton Sound

The Aegis Combat System ( English Aegis Combat System ) is an electronic warning and fire control system, especially on warships , which was developed by the United States Navy and is now used by several navies worldwide. The system is named after the protective shield Aigis from Greek mythology .

history

Aegis was developed during the 1970s in response to the threat to warships posed by new weapon systems (such as MBDA Exocet ) and, in particular, against the Warsaw Pact missile saturation concept. This consisted of overpowering the defense capabilities of western warships by simultaneously attacking numerous air- and sea-based missiles. Aegis consists of a computer networked system of sensors , databases and fire control systems .

The first test installation was installed and tested in 1973 on the guided missile test ship Norton Sound . As an operational system, it worked for the first time on the Ticonderoga from 1983 .

During the Falklands War it became publicly known how powerful the Exocet, for example, is (the British lost the destroyer Sheffield on May 4, 1982 - 20 sailors died and 24 were wounded). The attack of the Super Étendards on the Sheffield was the first combat mission with airborne anti-ship missiles at all. The second of the two Exocets fired narrowly missed the frigate Yarmouth (it may have crashed into the sea due to lack of fuel).

Aegis became known to the general public, as the Vincennes the Iran Air Flight 655 shot down, of the system as a F-14 Tomcat was identified. With this, Aegis demonstrated the risk of errors in fully automatic combat management systems. Because of the ever shorter remaining reaction times to possible attacks, they are still regarded as increasingly lacking in alternative in modern naval combat.

technology

The core is formed by a complex of AN / SPY-1 phased radars, four flat radar antennas aligned in 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock positions, which enable continuous monitoring of the airspace around the Aegis ship. The AN / SPY-1 radar is a passive phase-controlled system with an electronic beam panning (Passive Electronically Scanned Array) and agile beam that changes from one target to another in milliseconds. The agile beams make the SPY-1 a multifunctional radar that can locate, track and fight different targets at the same time. The time between the first location of the target and the launch of the interceptor missile is less than 15 seconds.

The data processing systems networked via Link 16 and Link 11 make it possible to track thousands of targets in real time and to analyze the threat they pose, to provide the ship's command with threat analyzes and decision-making templates on this basis, and dozens of these targets in order of priority also fully automatically with the Combat main weapon Standard Missile (SM) 2 . Aegis can use data networking not only to use all suitable weapon systems on its own ship, but also those of other ships in the association via C3 (Command Control Communication) networking. This capability was recently introduced into the US Navy under the designation co-operative engagement capability (CEC) , specifically for defense against ballistic missiles . CEC is used within the framework of the Network Centric Warfare Doctrine.

The CEC enables each combat unit to have a comprehensive picture of the situation by processing information from all other units (ships, submarines, aircraft) and satellites together. What one unit of the group sees is immediately visible to all others. This allows targets to be discovered and fought more quickly.

Aegis is installed in different variants on the American cruisers of the Ticonderoga- class as well as the destroyers of the Arleigh Burke-class . Outside the United States, the system is used by Japanese Kongo-class destroyers and Spanish Álvaro-de-Bazán-class destroyers .

The Bunker Hill is the first ship to be equipped with a completely new Aegis architecture. The new concept provides for the replacement of the many specialized computer systems with COTS components. This should reduce costs and at the same time increase performance. The open system structure also facilitates upgrades and changes with a view to the future . The Bunker Hill was equipped with this system as part of repair and renovation work. Completion was planned for February 2009.

Aegis users

Warships

country	class	Type	Aegis variant	Commissioning of the first ship	number	displacement	length	Remarks
Australia Australia	Hobart class	destroyer	SPY-1D	2017	3	6,250 t	147 m	is based on Álvaro de Bazán class
Japan Japan	Kongō class	destroyer	SPY-1D	1993	4th	9,485 t	161 m	is based on the Arleigh Burke class
Japan Japan	Atago class	destroyer	SPY-1D (V)	2007	2	> 10,000 t	170 m	based on the Arleigh Burke version (Flight IIA)
Norway Norway	Fridtjof Nansen class (F-310)	frigate	SPY-1F	2006	5	5,121 t	133 m	is based on Álvaro de Bazán class
Spain Spain	Álvaro de Bazán class (F-100)	frigate	SPY-1D	2002	5	6,250 t	147 m
Korea South South Korea	Sejongdawang class	destroyer	SPY-1D	2008	3	~ 10,000 t	166 m	based on the Arleigh Burke version (Flight IIA)
United States United States	Ticonderoga class	cruiser	SPY-1A (CG-47 – CG-58) SPY-1B (CG-59 – CG-73) SPY-1B (V) (CG-59 – CG-73 upgraded)	1983	27	9,750 t	173 m	Five out of service 2004/2005: First decommissioning of Aegis ships
United States United States	Arleigh Burke Class (Flight I & II)	destroyer	SPY-1D	1991	28	8,400 t	154 m
United States United States	Arleigh Burke Class (Flight IIA)	destroyer	SPY-1D (V)	2000	34	9,200 t	155 m	Variant with helicopter hangar

Land-based systems

For NATO missile defense , the United States has planned two systems at European military airfields in countries of the former Eastern Bloc, one is completed and another is under construction.

Deveselu , Romania in operation since May 13, 2016
Słupsk-Redzikowo , Poland, groundbreaking shortly after May 13, 2016, commissioning planned from 2020

Web links

Aegis on fas.org (English)