Surface Forces: Ship Self Defense System

Archives

July 20, 2008: The U.S. is installing a new Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) on aircraft carriers and amphibious ships. The SSDS is easier to upgrade with new software and commercial hardware improvements (more powerful CPUs, hard drives and memory). SSDS uses the increasingly popular (for the military) "open architecture" approach.

In the last three decades the military has had to abandon its long time practice of designing specialized (for military use) electronics. New commercial equipment, capable of doing the same thing, was being developed more quickly than similar custom military gear could be. It became clear that other countries could use the commercial stuff, and have cheaper and more powerful systems than American ships.

The SSDS is meant for ships armed mainly with anti-missile systems (the 20mm Phalanx gun or missiles). SSDS collects information from several radars and other sensors more quickly, and gives watch officers and commanders are better picture, more quickly, or approaching threats (including suicide boats or whatever.)

The carrier USS Nimitz is the first ship to get SSDS Mk 2.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close