The AN/SLQ-32 is a shipboard electronic warfare suite built by the Raytheon Company of Goleta, California and The Hughes Aircraft Company. [1] It is currently the primary electronic warfare system in use by U.S. Navy ships. [2] Its operators commonly refer to it as the "Slick-32". [3]
The SLQ-32 was originally conceived in the 1970s to augment the AN/WLR-1, which had been in service since the early 1960s. It was later determined to save costs to replace the various WLR-1 series suites with the SLQ-32 as a stand-alone system. As originally designed, the SLQ-32 was produced in three variants, the (V)1, (V)2 and (V)3. Later in its service life, additional versions were built, the (V)4 and (V)5. Today, (V)6 and (V)7 versions are in production. The Air Transport Rack sized processors were supplied by ROLM Mil-Spec Computers in San Jose, California.
All versions of the SLQ-32, with the exception of the (V)4, are interfaced with the Mk 36 Decoy Launching System, able to launch chaff and infrared decoys under the control of the SLQ-32. A growing number of systems are being upgraded to incorporate the Australian-designed Mk 53 Nulka decoy launching system. [4] [8]
The original modular design was intended to allow upgrades of the system from one variant to the next by simply installing additional equipment as required. Starting in the early 1990s, a program was begun to upgrade all SLQ-32s in the U.S. fleet. Most (V)1 systems were upgraded to (V)2, and most (V)2 systems were upgraded to (V)3. This was normally carried out during a major ship overhaul.
SEWIP Block 2 was tested on USS Freedom in December 2014, [9] and as of 2022, the latest U.S. destroyers are fitted with (V)6. In 2023, USS Pinckney became the first destroyer fitted with SEWIP Block 3. [8]
The initial procurement process was built around a “design to price” concept in which the final delivery cost per system was fixed in the contract. The SLQ-32 was designed to support the protection of ships against anti-ship missiles in an open sea environment. After initial deployment of the system, naval roles began to change requiring ships to operate much closer to shore in denser signal environments. This change in roles required changes to the SLQ-32 systems which were added over time. With experience gained working with the SLQ-32, coupled with improvements to the hardware and software, technicians and operators gradually overcame the initial problems. The SLQ-32 is now the mainstay of surface electronic warfare in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard's WMEC 270-foot (82 m)-class ships.
In 1996, a program called the Advanced Integrated Electronic Warfare System (AIEWS) was begun to develop a replacement for the SLQ-32. Designated the AN/SLY-2, AIEWS reached the prototype stage by 1999, but funding was withdrawn in April 2002 due to ballooning costs and constant delays in the projects development. It has since been replaced with Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP), which will replace the existing SLQ-32 hardware and technology in an evolutionary fashion. [10] As of September 2013 [update] , SEWIP Block 2 upgrades were first installed on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in 2014, with full-rate production scheduled for mid-2015. [11] Block 2 improved detection capabilities; better jamming is planned from 2017, but the 2013 sequestration cuts may push this date back a year. [12]
As of November 2023, SLQ-32(V)7 (SEWIP Block 3) is undergoing low-rate initial production and being retrofitted on Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, replacing their existing SLQ-32 equipment. [6] [5] A future SEWIP Block 4 with electro-optic and infrared detection capabilities has been proposed. [10] In September 2023, the first SEWIP Block 3 was fielded on USS Pinckney. [13]
The Arleigh Burke class of guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) is a United States Navy class of destroyer centered around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multi-function passive electronically scanned array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, an American destroyer officer in World War II and later Chief of Naval Operations. With an overall length of 505 to 509.5 feet, displacement ranging from 8,300 to 9,700 tons, and weaponry including over 90 missiles, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are larger and more heavily armed than many previous classes of guided-missile cruisers.
The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system, which uses computers and radars to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. It was developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and it is now produced by Lockheed Martin.
The Charles F. Adams class is a ship class of 29 guided-missile destroyers (DDG) built between 1958 and 1967. Twenty-three were built for the United States Navy, three for the Royal Australian Navy, and three for the West German Bundesmarine. The design of these ships was based on that of Forrest Sherman-class destroyers, but the Charles F. Adams class were the first class designed to serve as guided-missile destroyers. 19 feet (5.8 m) of length was added to the center of the design of the Forrest Sherman class to carry the ASROC launcher. The Charles F. Adams-class were the last steam turbine-powered destroyers built for the U.S. Navy. Starting with the succeeding Spruance-class, all U.S. Navy destroyers have been powered by gas turbines. Some of the U.S. Charles F. Adams class served during the blockade of Cuba in 1962 and during the Vietnam War; those of the Royal Australian Navy served during the Vietnam War and Gulf War.
The Ticonderoga class of guided-missile cruisers is a class of warships of the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in the 1978 fiscal year. It was originally planned as a class of destroyers. However, the increased combat capability offered by the Aegis Combat System and the passive phased array AN/SPY-1 radar, together with the capability of operating as a flagship, were used to justify the change of the classification from DDG to CG shortly before the keels were laid down for Ticonderoga and Yorktown.
USS Pinckney (DDG-91) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for African American Officer's Cook First Class William Pinckney (1915–1976), who received the Navy Cross for his courageous rescue of a fellow crewmember on board the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CV-6) during the Battle of Santa Cruz.
The Zumwalt-class destroyer is a class of three United States Navy guided-missile destroyers designed as multi-mission stealth ships with a focus on land attack. The class was designed with a primary role of naval gunfire support and secondary roles of surface warfare and anti-aircraft warfare. The class design emerged from the DD-21 "land attack destroyer" program as "DD(X)" and was intended to take the role of battleships in meeting a congressional mandate for naval fire support. The ship is designed around its two Advanced Gun Systems (AGS), turrets with 920 round magazines, and unique Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) ammunition. LRLAP procurement was canceled, rendering the guns unusable, so the Navy re-purposed the ships for surface warfare. Starting in 2023, the Navy will remove the AGS from the ships and replace them with hypersonic missiles.
An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy. The system may make many separate targets appear to the enemy, or make the real target appear to disappear or move about randomly. It is used effectively to protect aircraft from guided missiles. Most air forces use ECM to protect their aircraft from attack. It has also been deployed by military ships and recently on some advanced tanks to fool laser/IR guided missiles. It is frequently coupled with stealth advances so that the ECM systems have an easier job. Offensive ECM often takes the form of jamming. Self-protecting (defensive) ECM includes using blip enhancement and jamming of missile terminal homers.
The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the German, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, South Korean, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Mexican, UAE, and United States navies. It was originally intended and used primarily as a point-defense weapon against anti-ship missiles. As its name indicates, RAM rolls as it flies. The missile must roll during flight because the RF tracking system uses a two-antenna interferometer that can measure phase interference of the electromagnetic wave in one plane only. The rolling interferometer permits the antennas to look at all planes of incoming energy. In addition, because the missile rolls, only one pair of steering canards is required. As of 2005, it is the only U.S. Navy missile to operate in this manner.
The Kongō class of guided-missile destroyers in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are equipped with the Aegis Combat System, and is the first of few ship classes outside the United States to have that capability. Following a decision made in December 2003, Japan is upgrading their Kongo-class destroyers with Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The upgrade involves a series of installations and flight tests to take place from 2007 to 2010. JS Kongo was the first ship to have the BMD upgrade installed.
The Kidd-class destroyers were a series of four guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) based on the Spruance class. In contrast to their predecessor's focus on anti-submarine warfare, the Kidds were designed as more advanced multipurpose ships with the addition of considerably enhanced anti-aircraft capabilities. Originally ordered for the former Imperial Iranian Navy, the contracts were canceled when the 1979 Iranian Revolution began, and the ships were completed for the United States Navy. They were decommissioned in 1999 and sold to the Republic of China Navy as the Kee Lung class.
HMCS Ottawa is a Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate. Ottawa is the twelfth and final ship of the Halifax class that were built as part of the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the fourth vessel to carry the name HMCS Ottawa. The first three were named for the Ottawa River. This ship is the first named for Canada's national capital, the City of Ottawa. She is assigned to Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) and is homeported at HMC Dockyard, CFB Esquimalt. Ottawa serves on MARPAC missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Pacific Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone. Ottawa has also been deployed on missions throughout the Pacific and to the Indian Ocean; specifically the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on anti-terrorism operations.
The Hobart class is a ship class of three air warfare destroyers (AWDs) built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Planning for ships to replace the Adelaide-class frigates and restore the capability last exhibited by the Perth-class destroyers began by 2000, initially under acquisition project SEA 1400, which was re-designated SEA 4000. Although the designation "Air Warfare Destroyer" is used to describe ships dedicated to the defence of a naval force from aircraft and missile attack, the planned Australian destroyers are expected to also operate in anti-surface, anti-submarine, and naval gunfire support roles.
New Threat Upgrade (NTU) was a United States Navy program to improve and modernize the capability of existing cruisers and destroyers equipped with Terrier and Tartar anti-aircraft systems, keeping them in service longer.
The AN/SLQ-49 Chaff Buoy Decoy System, commonly referred to as "Rubber Duck", consists of inflatable radar-reflecting decoy buoys. It is used by the U.S. Navy, Royal Navy, and other NATO countries. The decoy is designed to seduce radar-guided anti-ship missiles by simulating the radar cross section of a ship, presenting itself as a more attractive target than the ship.
AN/SPQ-9A,, is a United States Navy multi-purpose surface search and fire control radar used with the Mk-86 gun fire-control system. It is a two dimensional surface-search radar, meaning it provides only range and bearing but not elevation. It is intended primarily to detect and track targets at sea level, on the surface of the water for either gun fire engagement or navigation. It can however, also detect and track low altitude air targets.
The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-1MR/SM-2MR) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile, developed for the United States Navy (USN). A member of the Standard Missile family of weapons, the SM-1 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar that were deployed in the 1950s on a variety of USN ships. The RIM-67 Standard (SM-1ER/SM-2ER) is an extended range version of this missile with a solid rocket booster stage.
The AN/SPY-6 is an active electronically scanned array 3D radar under development for the United States Navy (USN). It will provide integrated air and missile defense for Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Variants are under development for retrofitting Flight IIA Arleigh Burkes and for installation aboard Constellation-class frigates, Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, America-class amphibious assault ships, and San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks.
The AN/SPY-1 is a United States Navy 3D radar system manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The array is a passive electronically scanned system and a key component of the Aegis Combat System. The system is computer controlled and uses four complementary antennas to provide 360-degree coverage. The system was first installed in 1973 on USS Norton Sound and entered active service in 1983 as the SPY-1A on USS Ticonderoga. The -1A was installed on ships up to CG-58, with the -1B upgrade first installed on USS Princeton in 1986. The upgraded -1B(V) was retrofitted to existing ships from CG-59 up to the last, USS Port Royal.
USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the United States Navy. Ralph Johnson is the 64th ship of the class and was commissioned on 24 March 2018.
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