US Air Force F-15 EW kit completes operational testing
BAE has been making the EPAWSS under contract to Boeing. (Photo: BAE Systems)
Designed to offer full-spectrum electronic warfare capabilities for the F-15E and F-15EX fighters, the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) will enable freedom of manoeuvre and deeper penetration into battlespaces.
The US Air Force (USAF) has completed Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) of the BAE Systems-made Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) for the service’s F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II jets.
EPAWSS was designed to provide full-spectrum electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, including radar warning, geolocation, situational awareness and self-protection to the fighters. The system, BAE Systems claimed, will enable “freedom of manoeuvre” and deeper penetration into battlespaces protected by integrated air defence systems.
“EPAWSS is a leap in technology, improving the lethality and combat capabilities of the F-15E and F-15EX in contested, degraded environments against advanced threats,” said Maj Bryant “Jager” Baum, EPAWSS test director for the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC).
BAE makes the EPAWSS under contract to Boeing which manages F-15E upgrades and builds the new F-15EX. The system has been cleared for full-rate production, with initial operational capability expected in about a year. USAF fiscal 2025 budget documents showed procurement for the programme would conclude in 2029 after an investment of US$1.8 billion.
BAE and the USAF tested and demonstrated the EPAWSS’s capabilities during the Northern Edge 2023 large force exercise, where the system had to respond to previously unencountered electromagnetic threats, the company noted.
“There are currently no EPAWSS operators outside the US,” Lindsay Gallagher, TacAir EW product line director at BAE Systems, told Shephard. “We are working to export EPAWSS variants to our international allies.”
This story was updated at 14:30 on 3 April 2024 with a quote from BAE Systems regarding EPAWSS customers outside the US.
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