Lockheed Martin Delivers Critical Upgrade to Strengthen U.S. Navy’s Defenses
- MM24 News Desk
- Oct 13
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 16
Credit: Lockheed Martin
As the U.S. Navy faces an increasingly complex security environment marked by advanced missile systems and sophisticated cyber threats, Lockheed Martin has taken a significant step to reinforce naval defense capabilities. The recent delivery and certification of the Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) Baseline 12, Capability Package 4 (CP4) marks an important milestone in the Navy’s mission to maintain superiority in maritime warfare and safeguard its fleet from evolving threats.
Enhancing Defense Against Emerging Threats
The Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) is a cornerstone of the Navy’s layered defense strategy. It integrates multiple sensors, radars, weapons, and command systems into a unified combat management framework, giving sailors and marines a comprehensive, real-time picture of the battlespace. This allows them to detect, track, and neutralize incoming threats—including missiles, aircraft, and asymmetric attacks—with speed and precision.
The new Capability Package 4 (CP4) upgrade delivers substantial improvements in system performance, data processing, and response coordination. By strengthening situational awareness and interoperability between shipboard systems, CP4 ensures that naval crews can respond more rapidly and effectively to the growing range of missile and electronic warfare challenges at sea. The enhancement also future-proofs the SSDS architecture, ensuring the Navy maintains its combat edge in an era of accelerating technological change.
Deployment Across Multiple Ship Classes
The SSDS Baseline 12 is already operational across a broad spectrum of the U.S. Navy’s most vital platforms. These include:
Nimitz-class and Ford-class aircraft carriers
San Antonio-class (LPD) amphibious transport docks
Wasp-class (LHD) landing helicopter docks
America-class (LHA) amphibious assault ships
By deploying the SSDS across these diverse ship classes, the Navy achieves a consistent and integrated defensive capability throughout its fleet. This uniformity allows for streamlined training, maintenance, and mission execution, while ensuring that each vessel—whether a massive carrier or an amphibious platform—remains equipped to counter both physical and digital threats.
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Virtualization: Defining the Future of Fleet Security
In one of the most transformative developments yet, Lockheed Martin, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and key industry partners, has successfully virtualized the SSDS. This breakthrough represents a major evolution in naval combat systems, showcasing the ability to deliver enhanced operability, maintainability, and readiness insights through digital integration.
The virtualized system is a central component of the Navy’s Integrated Combat System (ICS) initiative—a comprehensive effort to modernize how ships process and share information. The ICS framework combines Heritage systems, a Software Factory, and a Hardware Factory to enable more agile development, faster deployment of updates, and improved mission resilience.
By embracing virtualization, the Navy can adapt faster to new threats, simulate combat scenarios, and optimize performance without needing extensive hardware changes on ships—ushering in a new era of digital maritime defense.
Looking Ahead
Lockheed Martin remains committed to working closely with the Navy to ensure that the SSDS evolves in step with emerging threats. The company’s ongoing development of Capability Package 5 (CP5) will introduce even more advanced integration and automation features, reinforcing the Navy’s broader vision for a fully connected and adaptive combat environment.
As naval warfare becomes increasingly defined by speed, data, and electronic dominance, Lockheed Martin’s innovations—like the SSDS CP4 and upcoming CP5—ensure that the U.S. Navy remains prepared, protected, and ready to prevail in the face of tomorrow’s challenges.