USS
George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) conducted the first aircraft carrier-borne
end-to-end at-sea test of the Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) System,
May 15-19. The SSTD System combines the passive detection capability
of the Torpedo Warning System that not only finds torpedoes but also
classifies and tracks them, with the hard-kill capability of the Countermeasure
Anti-Torpedo — an encapsulated miniature torpedo. |
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The Countermeasure Anti-Torpedo is being developed
by the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory (PSU-ARL).
It is designed to locate, home in on and destroy hostile torpedoes.
Over the four-day testing period, Bush engaged seven torpedo-like targets
with seven Countermeasure Anti-Torpedoes. Designed to validate the end-to-end
of the system, the testing proved successful.
"These tests are a culmination of a very focused effort by the
Navy including the program office, Bush’s crew, Norfolk Naval
Shipyard and our academic and industrial partners. With all seven of
our shots doing what they are designed and built to do, it validates
our work and significantly enhances our current capabilities,"
said Capt. Moises DelToro, the Undersea Defensive Warfare Systems program
manager.
This first end-to-end test of the SSTD System achieved several firsts:
the first Torpedo Warning System detection of targets from a carrier,
the first automatic detection and automatic targeting of an incoming
torpedo target from a ship; the first launch of Countermeasure Anti-Torpedo
from a carrier and the first end to end Torpedo Warning System and Countermeasure
Anti-Torpedo system detection-to-engage at-sea test.
"It is gratifying to have these tests go so well," said Rear
Adm. David Johnson, program executive officer, Submarines whose portfolio
includes the Undersea Defensive Warfare Systems Program Office. "The
engineering involved to detect a hostile torpedo, process its direction,
speed, depth, and then engage it with a carrier-launched Countermeasure
Anti-Torpedo is impressive. I am confident that the fleet will be pleased
with the results."
Given the complexity of the system, the program office is taking an
incremental approach to the development and acquisition of the Surface
Ship Torpedo Defense System.
"What is currently aboard Bush is an engineering development model,
or EDM, that is a fully-functioning system, but not the final configuration
or production model," DelToro explained. "We’re learning
from the Bush to improve the system so we can provide the most robust
and cost-effective hard-kill anti-torpedo capability possible."
The Navy currently plans to equip all aircraft carriers and other high-value
units with the Surface Ship Torpedo Defense system by 2035.
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