Ceremonies at Raytheon’s [RTN] Weapon Integration Center in Camden, Ark., were held to mark the 1,000th delivery of the Evolved SeaSparrow missile used by 10 nations for ship defense.
The NATO SeaSparrow Surface Missile System (NSSMS) began life as a program designed to provide a standard weapon system to a number of NATO countries while reducing costs and guaranteeing interoperability, the company said in a statement. Denmark, Italy, Norway and the United States were eventually joined by NATO allies Belgium, Canada, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Turkey.
Before Italy withdrew from the consortium, Australia was the first non-NATO member of the worldwide user group.
As threats became smaller, faster and more maneuverable, evolutionary improvements to the SeaSparrow missile were needed.
The 10 nations of the NSSMS Consortium developed a kinematic upgrade: the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile. Today’s ESSM has attracted an even larger user base– license production agreements in place with Japan and the United Arab Emirates represent the first foreign military sales to non-NSSMS nations.
“Today, Raytheon is partnered with 18 companies in 10 consortium countries in an industry team,” Ed Roesly, ESSM program director, said. “We all share work, rely on technology found in each company, and provide return on the partner’s investment.”
Each country shares the results of its tests through a central test and evaluation organization. That information allows all the members of the consortium to track the system’s performance and improve on engagement outcomes.
“Naval missions today require ships to operate in the littorals, and frequently as part of a larger maritime presence,” Roesly said. “In this situation, threats are possible from a wide range of launch platforms with target vessels being combatant, support or commercial. It’s in this stressing environment that ESSM provides superior ship-defense capability.”
ESSM is designed to meet the threats posed by current and next-generation anti-ship missiles. The rapid advances in propulsion, stealth and airframe design technologies have caused the ESSM consortium to develop the means to reduce the fly-out time to ensure engagements at the greatest possible distance, the company said. ESSM’s current propulsion section provides the missile with the capability to reach speeds greater than Mach 3, and agility– with planned next-generation improvement increases–by a factor of two or more.
Along with increased speed comes the need for guidance section improvements. ESSM’s 8-inch forward body can be easily enlarged to match the 10-inch-diameter aft section, providing additional space for such improvements as larger antennas or dual-mode guidance hardware, the company statement said.