Lockheed Martin Lowers The Cost And Risk Of Interoperability for UK CEC
LONDON, ENGLAND, November 22nd, 2001 -- Lockheed Martin has unveiled plans to link the Aegis Integration Facilities at Lockheed Martin's Theatre Network Integration Centre (TNIC) in Moorestown, New Jersey, USA with the UK Royal Navy's Shore Integration Facility in Hampshire, England. The company believes this innovative move will greatly reduce the cost and risk of testing the UK's Co-operative Engagement Capability (CEC) and other tactical data links. CEC shares information between the ships in a task force, allowing all sensors - for example, from radar and weapons systems - to be used to defeat a threat, such as an incoming hostile aircraft or missile. By linking all CEC-equipped ships, and potentially even airborne and land-based sensors, it also provides a common, consistent and highly accurate tactical picture, allowing battle group defences to act as one system. The key to its power lies in rapid data sharing, and for the US Navy, the Aegis Combat System is also a central element. The ability to integrate and test the two systems not only allows for more realistic testing, but also leverages the significant investment made by the US Navy and Lockheed Martin in Aegis development facilities. The company is the Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA) for Aegis and is under contract with the US Navy to develop CEC Baseline 2.2, which will enable CEC to incorporate Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (TBMD) capability.
With proven experience of managing and delivering large and complex UK defence programmes such as the Merlin HM Mk1 and the Royal Navy's Tomahawk Integration (RNTI) Project, Lockheed Martin is best placed to deliver on UK CEC which experts clearly recognise as another complex systems integration task.
The opening of the TNIC centre comes at a time when the Royal Navy is evaluating CEC for its own ships. Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems is leading a team studying its possible deployment and integration with UK defence and weapons systems. The team also includes Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems. The Lockheed Martin team will leverage its vast experience of working with CEC in the US, having led the industry team for USN Aegis/CEC integration to achieve Battlegroup integration and Operational Evaluation (OpEval) success. BAE SYSTEMS and QinetiQ will also have key roles on the UK project. The Ministry of Defence will shortly appoint a prime contractor for the second phase of the programme with the aim of having CEC in service by 2008.
Speaking about the TNIC facility, Ron Christenson, group managing director of Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems said "Developing a dedicated centre for network-centric warfare systems at our Moorestown facility was the natural progression for our business. We are absolutely committed to the CEC programme and believe our investment in the TNIC is a key discriminator of our CEC bid and emphasises our commitment to the networked fighting force of the future."
Lockheed Martin plans to extend the benefits of TNIC to the UK by networking TNIC to UK RN Shore Integration Facilities. This will enable critical interoperability trials between UK RN and USN Aegis Weapon Systems to be conducted using shared synthetic environments, prior to expensive and high-risk sea trials. Future networking of weapon systems will drive down the integration and interoperability risks to the UK programme.
Lockheed Martin UK
Lockheed Martin UK Ltd. is a leader in systems integration working on major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence, civil and commercial sectors with significant capabilities in the transport infrastructure market. Lockheed Martin UK Ltd. has annual sales of approximately £600 million and enjoys more than 75 significant business partnerships in the UK. Lockheed Martin UK is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation and employs approximately 1,000 employees at over 20 facilities including London, Portsmouth, Havant, Southampton, Yeovil, Swindon, Hertford, Bristol and Cornwall.
Christopher Trippick, Tel: +44(0)23 9256 4197 mobile: +44(0)7905 356646 email: chris.trippick@lmco.com
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