Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Port Hueneme engineers successfully fired a test launch of the new production configuration of the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) from the Navy Self Defense Test Ship in Port Hueneme, Calif.
“These ESSM modifications increase both guidance performance and hardware reliability for our fleet and our NATO consortium partners,” said Mike Ryan, NSWC Port Hueneme test engineer. “Whenever we increase a missile’s guidance performance and reliability, we increase the probability of target kill, thereby helping the warfighter counter threats with more confidence and less ordnance.”
The new ESSM configuration includes both hardware and software modifications and was fired from a CVN-class combat system. The ESSM missile achieved a warhead kill against a low-altitude target.
Testing missile capabilities from the Self Defense Test Ship allows NSWC Port Hueneme, a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command, to produce future technologies that maximize warfighter capabilities, which supports the nation’s maritime strategy.