The Orchestra of Destruction
So, what exactly is this naval shield? Think of it as a highly synchronised, incredibly violent orchestra. The conductor is the Aegis Combat System, a creation of Lockheed Martin. It’s the brain of the operation, a network of computers and software that detects, tracks, and decides how to deal with incoming threats. It’s the part that doesn’t get its hands dirty but tells everyone else what to do.
The eyes of this system are the powerful radars, like the AN/SPY-6 from Raytheon. These can spot a problem from hundreds of miles away, giving the system precious seconds to react. When the order is given, the system launches its star performers, the Standard Missile interceptors, also from Raytheon. These aren’t your typical explosive warheads. They are, in essence, very fast, very precise bullets that destroy targets by simply crashing into them at mind boggling speeds. All of this technology is packed onto floating platforms like the Arleigh Burke class destroyers, built by giants such as Huntington Ingalls and General Dynamics. It’s a complex ecosystem of interlocking parts, and as we’ve seen, it appears to be brutally effective.