Most warships and U.S. Coast Guard vessels today use various versions of Lockheed Martin's Aegis Combat Management System (CMS), which new frigates and smaller surface vessels will also operate. Amphibious ships and aircraft carriers use a separate system developed by Raytheon and now managed by Lockheed.
The goal of the Navy's ICS is to modernise the technology found throughout the surface fleet so that software can be updated over the air, similar to most smartphones, an effort led by the service's Maryland-based software factory, the Forge. The unified CMS will offer unified control of ship combat systems, reuse of the software for different ships with minimal adjustments and easy support for other users.
According to a Pentagon statement, the contract, if all options are exercised, can reach 1.1 billion dollars by 2030.
