ALEX brochure - Lockheed Martin

ALEX
Automatic Launch of EXpendables System for Ship Self-Defense

The ALEX system
provides ship self-defense for 52 ships
for eight international navies, including the U.S. Navy’s
newest warship, the Littoral Combat Ship.
The Need for Self Protection
Off-board countermeasures protect surface navy assets against
the ever-expanding threats of modern warfare and stand as a
necessary part of any ship’s layered, self-defense.
Countermeasure techniques include:
• Hard-kill weapons to blunt or destroy the
attacking forces
• Soft-kill on-board ECM
• Off-board decoys to seduce, distract, and confuse
attacking forces
Off-board decoys provide the lowest risk and offer the most
cost effective method to aid in ship survival. Off-board
decoys can easily be upgraded and adapted to pace the
emergent and evolving ASM threat.
ALEX (Automated Launch of EXpendables)
• Off-board tactics for decoy use are complex
• Result: A decoy launch system (DLS) operator, in
combat conditions, is unable to assimilate all necessary
data and then quickly execute the best decoy
deployment tactics
• To overcome this deficiency, Lockheed Martin developed
the ALEX System
• ALEX executes approved, predetermined decoy launch
tactics, developed by the user navy employing TAWS
software, either automatically or semi-automatically,
depending upon the operational mode selected
ALEX (Automatic Launch of EXpendables) System
ALEX Features
ALEX provides shipboard management of expendable decoys
via computer control, using deck-mounted decoy launchers.
• ALEX components take advantage of COTS technology
• ALEX is integrated with the ship’s CMS, as well as
ESM/NAV/Wind sensors
• ALEX provides and implements optimum tactics for all
scenarios
• ALEX may be operated in an automatic or a semi-automatic
mode. Manual override is available at all times, regardless of
the operating mode selected.
• ALEX is scalable, allowing the number of launchers to
increase as ship size increases
• ALEX provides:
- Automatic decoy cartridge reseed
- Automatic Misfire Detect/Correct
- Built in Test
ALEX uses either 130mm SRBOC or 112mm RBOC launchers
and is fully compatible with both SRBOC (and RBOC) families
of decoys. These RF, IR, hybrid RF-IR, and anti-torpedo decoys
may be supplied by multiple international suppliers.
Integrated Soft-Kill Solution
ALEX could serve as the basis for integration for all off-board
countermeasures, avoiding mutual interference/interaction
among existing and future active and passive soft kill and hard
kill systems.
MK 137
SRBOC LAUNCHERS
MASTER CONTROL
PANEL
LAUNCHER
ELECTRONICS UNIT
MASTER POWER
PANEL
SYSTEM
PROCESSOR
UNINTERRUPTIBLE
POWER SUPPLY
SHIP MANEUVER
INDICATORS
BRIDGE CONTROL
PANEL
Cover photo credits:
Top: SRBOC decoy launched from an ALEX-standard Mk 137 launcher on a United States Navy combatant
Bottom: U.S. Navy petty officer undergoing ALEX operator training at the Marion, Ma. Lockheed Martin facility
Cover photos courtesy of the U.S. Navy

I
Test
TUBE STATUS
System Configuration
The ALEX System, depicted below,
consists of:
• Deck-mounted launchers (one or
more pairs, dependent upon ship size)
• Launcher Electronics Units (LEU)
One LEU per pair of launchers. The
LEU communicates with the ALEX
SP over the serial digital ALEX LAN
to implement decoy firing commands
and report on launcher status
including, loaded/empty, safe/armed
and fire/misfire conditions.
• System Processor (SP) This processor
runs ALEX software under the state
of the art operating system, QNX.
It communicates with ship systems
and manages decoy launching and
operator inputs using one of a
number of serial digital interfaces.
• Master Control Panel (MCP).
The MCP, the primary operator
interface for ALEX: displaying
system status of launchers, threat
tracks and platform data. It receives
operator commands to control decoy
launching and implement automatic
tactics.
• Bridge Control Panel (BCP), is a
manually operated alternative to the
MCP. It contains safing, arming, and
fire control switches as well as
system status indicators. The ALEX
operator can award control of the
ALEX System to the BCP from the
MCP.
• Ship Maneuver Indicator (SMI) also
interfaces with the SP. An audible
alarm on the SMI provides an alert
when a recommended course-to-steer
is displayed as part of the
recommended decoy tactic.
• Master Power Panel (MPP)
The data and power circuits to
all ALEX modules are routed
through, and can be controlled with,
the circuit breakers on the MPP.
• Launcher warning horns are mounted
in the vicinity of the launchers and
sound at predetermined intervals
whenever the system is in the “Enable
Fire” mode.
• Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
provides conditioned AC power to the
system and, without operator
intervention, will continue to supply
backup power in the event of a ship
power failure or a decrease in power
level.
Tactical Analysis Workstation
(TAWS)
TAWS is a soft kill ship defense
modeling and analysis tool, developed
by Lockheed Martin, to assist
international customers in developing
their own unique expert decoy launch
tactics.
TAWS may be operated in one of two
modes – Automatic or Manual:
Automatic mode
• Runs user-directed parametric
engagement analyses to produce the
ALEX System Mission Data File
(MDF)
• MDF contains tactics to be used by
the ALEX Operational Shipboard
System
• MDF is downloaded into ALEX SP,
before the ship deploys, to “tailor”
that ship with specific tactics for
layered ship self-defense
Manual mode
• Runs individual scenarios with full
animation
Total Systems Support
Lockheed Martin offers total customer
support, from initial inquiry through
LAUNCHER
COMBAT
SYSTEM
COMBAT
SYSTEM
ESM
PORT
HORN
LAUNCHER
ELECTRONICS UNIT
LAUNCHER STATUS, TACTIC DATA
SYSTEM
PROCESSOR
SHIP DATA
WIND DATA
THREAT DATA
OOU (SYNCHROS)
THREAT DATA
LAUNCHER
PORT
MASTER
CONTROL
PANEL
final acceptance test, and most
importantly, post delivery in-service
support. Specific areas include:
• Hardware Supply
• Program Management
• Production
• Engineering Services
• Support Services
• Training
• Integrated Logistics Support
• Post Delivery In-Service Support
HORN
LAUNCHER
ELECTRONICS UNIT
HORN
SHIP
MANEUVER
INDICATOR
LAUNCHER
STARBOARD
UNINTERRUPTABLE
POWER SUPPLY
HORN
1 2
3 4
MASTER
POWER PANEL
LAUNCHER
STARBOARD
SHIP’S POWER
BRIDGE
CONTROL
PANEL

Lockheed Martin
Mission Systems and Training
300 M Street, SE
Washington, D.C. 20003, USA
www.lockheedmartin.com/mst/product_contacts
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