New Threat Upgrade
Encyclopedia
The Program
New Threat Upgrade (NTU) was a program to improve the anti-aircraft capability of TerrierRIM-2 Terrier
The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile , and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. Originally, the Terrier had a launch thrust of 23 kN , and weight of 1392 kg...
and Tartar
Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System
The Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System is an air defense system developed by the United States Navy to defend warships from air attack. Since its introduction the system has been improved and sold to several United States allies.-Description:...
ships. It allowed the full use of newer Standard missile
Standard missile
Standard Missile can refer to a family of several different American missiles:* RIM-66 Standard , a medium range surface-to-air missile, the successor of the RIM-24 Tartar missile...
s (SM-2) and improved the interoperability of the radar and computer systems aboard the ships. The system allows the ships to which it was fitted to time share illumination radars for multiple missile interceptions in a manner similar to the Aegis Combat System
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
. Some sources indicate that NTU ships were superior in some respects to Aegis
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
ships of the same era, particularly in the area of user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
. They were inferior in that they could not deal with a saturation missile attack
Saturation attack
Saturation attack is a military tactic in which the attacking side hopes to gain an advantage by overwhelming the defending side's technological, physical and mental ability to respond effectively...
as well as Aegis vessels. The lower levels of funding available to the USN after the Cold War lead to most of the NTU ships being retired early, because of high cost of operation compared to newer vessels. As a result, the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
no longer fields any NTU capable ships and most newly constructed ships have the Aegis weapon system.
Modifications to Existing Ships
The New Threat Upgrade to the Leahy classLeahy class cruiser
Leahy class cruisers were a class of guided missile cruisers built for the United States Navy. They were originally designated as DLG destroyers, but in the 1975 cruiser realignment, they were reclassified as guided missile cruisers .-Description:...
included massive remodeling of the ship from food service space rehabilitation to a main propulsion system overhaul.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cg-16.htm Entire systems were removed and replaced, for example the AN/SPS-40
AN/SPS-40
The AN/SPS-40 is a United States Navy two-dimensional, long range air search radar that is capable of providing contact bearing and range. It was used on s, s, s, s, s, s, s and many other ship classes...
air-search radar was replaced with the AN/SPS-49
AN/SPS-49
The AN/SPS-49 is a United States Navy two-dimensional, long range air search radar built by Raytheon that can provide contact bearing and range. It is a primary air-search radar for numerous ships in the U.S...
air-search radar. The upgrade was also quite expensive and the ships modified didn't serve much longer after the modification. For example, USS Gridley (CG-21)
USS Gridley (DLG-21)
USS Gridley , a Leahy-class guided missile frigate, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Charles Vernon Gridley, who distinguished himself with Admiral George Dewey's force at the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898....
received NTU in 1991 at a cost of $55 million but was decommissioned in early 1994.
End of the Cold War
The Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
ended shortly after the expensive New Threat Upgrade occurred and all ships that received the upgrades were decommissioned within six years of their upgrade. The USS Texas (CGN-39)
USS Texas (CGN-39)
USS Texas was the second Virginia-class nuclear guided missile cruiser. She was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of Texas.-Construction:...
was decommissioned during the upgrade.
KDX-II Class
The Navy of the Republic of Korea uses a NTU derived system for its Chungmugong Yi Sunshin class destroyers.NTU systems
- AN/SPS-49AN/SPS-49The AN/SPS-49 is a United States Navy two-dimensional, long range air search radar built by Raytheon that can provide contact bearing and range. It is a primary air-search radar for numerous ships in the U.S...
(V)5 - A 2D Air Search Radar (Bearing and range) - AN/SPS-48AN/SPS-48The AN/SPS-48 is a US naval phased array three-dimensional air search radar system manufactured by ITT Corporation. It was a key component of the New Threat Upgrade and is still used on some US Navy ships such as s, s and s...
E - A 3D Air Search Radar (Bearing, range and height) - AN/SYS-2(V)1 Integrated Automatic Detection and Tracking System (IADTS)
- (A)CDS - (Advanced) Combat Direction System
- WDS Mk 14 - Weapons Direction System
- Mk 74 TartarTartar Guided Missile Fire Control SystemThe Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System is an air defense system developed by the United States Navy to defend warships from air attack. Since its introduction the system has been improved and sold to several United States allies.-Description:...
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/systems/mk-74.htm and Mk 76 Terrier Fire Control SystemsFire-control radarA fire-control radar is a radar which is designed specifically to provide information to a fire-control system in order to calculate a firing solution...
(AN/SPG-55AN/SPG-55The AN/SPG-55 was a tracking / illumination radar for Terrier and RIM-67 Standard missiles . It was used for target tracking and Surface-to-air missile guidance on numerous ships including s,s, s and Farragut class destroyers. It was also used on the nuclear powered single units , and...
B radar for Terrier ships and AN/SPG-51AN/SPG-51The AN/SPG-51 is a tracking / illumination radar for RIM-66 Standard missiles. It is used for target tracking and Surface-to-air missile guidance on s, s, and s.The French Cassard class frigates also utilise this system.Older variants were used on s....
for Tartar) - AN/SYR-1 Communications Tracking Sethttp://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/systems/an-syr-1.htm, used for SM-2 missile downlink
- Mk 10 twin-arm manual launcher, Mk 13Mk 13 Missile LauncherThe Mk-13 guided missile launching system is a single-arm missile launcher designed for use on frigates and other military vessels.The Mark 13 is equipped to fire the RIM-66 Standard, RGM-84 Harpoon, and RIM-24 Tartar missiles for anti-air and anti-ship defense, and is capable of firing the...
single-arm automated launcher and Mk 26http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/systems/mk-26-gmls.htm twin-arm, automated missile launchers - RESS - Radar Environmental Simulator System
NTU ships
These classes had some of their units modified with the New Threat Upgrade.- Belknap class cruiserUSS Belknap (DLG-26)USS Belknap , named for Rear Admiral George Eugene Belknap USN , was the lead ship of her class of guided missile cruisers in the United States Navy...
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/cg-26.htm - California class cruiserCalifornia class cruiserThe California class cruisers were a set of two of nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers operated by the United States Navy between 1974 and 1998. Other than their nuclear power supply and lack of helicopter hangars, ships of the California class were comparable to other guided missile cruisers...
- Charles F. Adams class destroyerCharles F. Adams class destroyerThe Charles F. Adams class is a ship class of 29 guided missile destroyers built between 1958 and 1967. Twenty three ships were built for the United States Navy, 3 for the Royal Australian Navy, and 3 for the West German Bundesmarine. The ships were based on the existing Forrest Sherman class, but...
- Planned to be upgraded, but cancelled.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ddg-2.htm - Farragut class destroyer (1958)Farragut class destroyer (1958)The Farragut class was the second destroyer class of the United States Navy to be named for Admiral David Glasgow Farragut. The class is sometimes referred to as the Coontz class, since Coontz was first to be designed and built as a guided missile ship, whereas the previous three ships were...
- Planned, but only USS Mahan (DDG-42)USS Mahan (DDG-42)USS Mahan , named for Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan USN , was a Farragut-class guided missile frigate laid down as DLG-11 by the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on July 31, 1957, launched on October 7, 1959 by Mrs. H. P. Smith, wife of Vice Adm. H. Page Smith, and commissioned on December 25, 1960...
was upgraded as a test platform in 1982.http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ddg-37.htm - Kidd class destroyerKidd class destroyerThe Kidd class guided missile destroyers were a series of four warships based upon the hull of the Spruance class destroyers. These ships were originally ordered by the Shah of Iran for service in the Persian Gulf in an air defense role...
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ddg-993.htm - Leahy class cruiser - All upgraded in the late-1980s and decommissioned by 1995.
- Virginia class cruiserVirginia class cruiserThe Virginia-class nuclear guided-missile cruisers were a series of four double-ended guided-missile cruisers commissioned in the late 1970s, which served in the US Navy until the mid- to late-1990s...