Raytheon has completed design, development, and testing of its Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) system to the Australian Navy, intended for installation onboard the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Hobart. The CEC system provides increased battlefield awareness by sharing sensor data among a network of other Australian and allied ships equipped with CEC systems. The Hobart system will be certified by the U.S. Navy as the system’s first international installation (see photo).
The CEC system is designed to integrate radar data from multiple networked systems into a single battlefield picture, working with data from geographically dispersed ships, aircraft, and ground-based systems. The current CEC system is the result of technology advancements in commercial and military electronic components and subsystems, as well as more than 30 years of engineering experience on the part of the Raytheon crew working as the U.S. Navy’s CEC Design Agent. The system provides enhanced radar imaging from the integrated data, but without degrading the radar capabilities of individual vessels and their systems.
Raytheon’s radar-sensor-integrating CEC system will be installed on several ships of the Australian Navy, including the HMAS Hobart. (Photograph courtesy of the U.S. Navy)
“The addition of CEC is a major building block for Australia in their defense against anti-air warfare threats in the Pacific Region,” said U.S. Navy Captain Jonathan Garcia, CEC major program manager, Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems 6.0. “This delivery to Australia marks a significant first—expanding the CEC network globally and increasing the U.S. Navy interoperability with a valued, strategic ally.”
The CEC system capability will be transferred in the form of hardware and software for installation on the HMAS Hobart (DDG-39), and NUSHIP Brisbane (DDG-41). Installation will be followed by an extensive integration, test and evaluation period, with Raytheon’s engineers working closely on all phases, including sea trials. The CEC system is currently deployed on ships and land-based test sites, E-2C/D aircraft, and U.S. Marine Corps network systems.
