USS Abraham Lincoln. Image – US Navy
In January, Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Mission Systems was awarded a $64 million contract modification for ongoing support of the U.S. Navy’s Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS) program. This was only the latest development in an active phase for a highly critical Navy effort.
The SSDS program integrates self-defense equipment – particularly sensors and electronic
countermeasures – into a single combat/protection system. SSDS upgrades and enhancements are being fielded on U.S. Navy surface ships to carry out the vital mission of countering current and projected anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) threats.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has provided stark examples of surface vessel vulnerability. The July 2022 sinking of the Russian guided missile cruiser Moskva by Neptune anti-ship missiles brought this reality home vividly in real time.
The SSDS program will see steady annual funding of between $120 and $162 million over the next
several years. Based on an estimated projection of the FY23 defense budget, close to $1.4 billion in
RDT&E funding will likely be allocated for the SSDS program through 2032.
Looking forward to upcoming program milestones, production of advanced SSDS and Integrated
Combat System (ICS) computing infrastructures is scheduled to begin in FY25.
Forecast International’s Electronic Warfare Forecast provides coverage of self-protection and early warning systems for military platforms, both in the skies and on the surface. This service features reports on notable systems such as the Next Generation Jammer and the Eurofighter EW suite, as well as electronic intelligence gathering and radar and missile warning systems currently available or in development. An annual subscription includes 80 individual reports, most with a 10-year unit production forecast. Product comes complete with three Market Segment Analyses covering the markets for Decoys and Dispensers, Electronic Attack Systems, and Electronic Support Measures. Click here to learn more.
Andrew Dardine is lead analyst for Forecast International's Defense Electronic Systems group. He is the primary author of Forecast International's Electronic Warfare Forecast and co-author of Electro-Optical Systems Forecast and C4I Forecast. Andrew is also a regular contributor to FI's Defense & Security Monitor blog, offering insights into developing technologies such as directed-energy and next-generation jamming systems. His analysis of such vital market areas as EO/IR systems and electronic countermeasures technology has been cited in Defense News, Aerospace Daily, and Bloomberg Businessweek, among other news media. He has also written about the electronic defense market for Aviation Week and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
