Lockheed Martin upgrades Australian destroyers to support CMS integrat…

The Royal Australian Navy Hobart-class destroyer, HMAS Sydney , firing a Harpoon missile during Exercise ‘Pacific Vanguard 2022'. Lockheed Martin has recently upgraded this class to enable integration of the Aegis Baseline 9 combat management system. (Commonwealth of Australia)

Lockheed Martin has upgraded the design architecture of the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) Hobart-class destroyers to enable integration of the Aegis Baseline 9 Combat Management System (CMS) into these vessels.

The upgrades were delivered on time and within budget as part of the SEA 4000 Phase 6 Combat System Design Agent (CSD-A) contract secured from the Australian Department of Defence (DoD), Lockheed Martin said on 7 November.

The CSD-A contract, worth AUD33 million (USD21 million), was awarded to Lockheed Martin in December 2021, as part of efforts to enhance the integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) capabilities of the Hobart-class destroyers.

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin delivered engineering services to upgrade the Hobart-class destroyers to facilitate integration of ballistic missile defence and other capabilities that the Aegis Baseline 9 CMS will provide, the company said.

Review of system requirements, incremental design reviews, and physical configuration audits were also completed as part of the contract. In addition, Lockheed Martin developed a “Combat Information Centre 3D virtual environment” that can deliver a vivid user-friendly visual representation of the combat system compartments to the RAN operators, the company added.

“The Aegis upgrades will ensure Australia keeps pace with the US Navy's Aegis modernisation programme, increases combat system lethality, and advances interoperability with our allies across the Indo-Pacific region,” Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand Chief Executive, Warren McDonald, said.