Lockheed Martin [LMT] is modernizing the Tactical Tomahawk’s control system and recently delivered the first upgraded system that integrates the launch and flight path software and hardware, the company said.
The upgrades to the Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System (TTWCS) will improve its processing time from minutes to seconds, said Paul Kirsch, company TTWCS program manager.
The ship-based TTWCS manages the launching of the land attack cruise missile and guides it on its flight path. TTWCS also talks to the missile and would play the key role in ordering it to loiter in flight or directing it to another target.
The first upgraded system was delivered to the Navy in December, Kirsch said. The modernization is for Ticonderoga-class (CG-47) cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) destroyers, the only surface combatants that carry the Tomahawk.
The next upgrade of TTWCS is scheduled for 2015.