Lockheed awarded US Navy EW development contract
Lockheed Martin has received a development contract from the US Navy for enhanced electronic warfare surveillance and countermeasure capabilities against anti-ship missile (ASM) threats, the company announced on 12 January.
The company will deliver up to 18 Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) Active Mission Payload (AMP) AN/ALQ-248 systems for the navy’s MH-60 helicopters under the contract, with all options exercised.
The AOEW AMP AN/ALQ-248 system is a self-contained EW pod that gives MH-60R/MH-60S helicopters advanced ASM detection and response capabilities.
The system can work independently or with the ship’s onboard electronic surveillance sensor, SEWIP Block 2 AN/SLQ-32(V)6, to detect an incoming missile and then evaluate where it is going. AOEW then uses radio frequency countermeasure techniques to deter the missile.
Joe Ottaviano, electronic warfare program director, said: ‘Every day ships across the world are facing a variety of evolving threats.
‘Our AOEW AMP AN/ALQ-248 system will help create a coordinated attack against these threats, to keep our warfighters safe by controlling the electromagnetic spectrum and disrupting adversaries.’
Manufacture of the AOEW AN/ALQ-248 systems is set to begin in early 2019 to meet the programme’s 2021 initial operational capability goal.
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