AEGIS Virtual Twin system completes first live-fire engagement onboard USS Thomas Hudner
NewsApril 23, 2019
ATLANTIC OCEAN. USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) sailers, alongside the Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS), completed the first live-fire engagement with the new AEGIS Virtual Twin system, a prototype of the AEGIS Virtual Combat Management System.
Thomas Hudner’s crew operated the Virtual Twin to fire a missile against an incoming target, proving the Virtual Twin can control radars and missiles to execute an engagement, Navy officials report.
Using virtualization technology, this system is able to run the AEGIS Weapon System code in a fraction of the original hardware space. PEO IWS installed the Virtual Twin on Thomas Hudner in rugged cases small enough to fit under a dining room table. In future designs, the reduced size can free up ship board space, providing room to field increased capabilities like artificial intelligence, training, and analysis.
"Delivering warfighting power to the hands of our sailors is our mission, and breaking the paradigm of hardware-software dependent deliveries is a major step toward rapidly delivering that warfighting power," said AEGIS Combat System Major Program Manager Capt. Todd Boehm.
This milestone event for the Virtual Twin was incorporated into Thomas Hudner's Combat System Ship Qualification Trials, marking critical milestones for both the Twin and the Navy's AEGIS platform.
