Mk 57 VLS

BAE Systems and Raytheon have teamed to develop the Mk 57 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for use aboard the Navy's new DDG 1000 destroyer. The Mk 57 VLS can rapidly launch missiles into a 360-degree hemispherical volume in support of multiple DDG 1000 mission areas including Land Attack Warfare, Integrated Air and Surface Dominance and Integrated Undersea Dominance.

The launcher will be comprised of clusters of magazines, each with four missile cells per cluster, located on the periphery of the ship's hull and isolated from crew and equipment spaces. The location of the launcher clusters significantly reduces the risk of damage to the ship should a stored missile be struck by enemy munitions.

The highly modular design of the Mk 57 will offer increased capacity to accommodate a wide variety of existing missile hardware as well as future missiles without requiring major reengineering. The Mk 57 VLS will launch several types of existing missiles, including:

• Tomahawk and Tactical Tomahawk land attack missiles
• Standard missiles for local air defense
• Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) for airborne and seaborne attacks
• Anti-submarine missiles

The launcher's modular electronic architecture will facilitate integration of new missile systems without having to modify the launcher control software, thereby resulting in faster, more efficient system upgrades, and major cost and time savings for the U.S. Navy. Additionally, the Mk 57 VLS is scaled to accept the heavier missiles that could potentially be used in the future for ballistic missile defense.

The Mk 57 VLS represents a major advance in maritime missile launching systems, and will significantly expand the capabilities of the DDG 1000 and future generations of surface combatants.

Click here to watch video of the Mk 57 VLS.