BAE Systems announced on 5 January that it has received a ‘rapid response’ $4 million contract from the USN to demonstrate a new radio frequency countermeasure (RFCM) system for the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
The pod-mounted RFCM unit is a lightweight, high-power system comprising a small form factor jammer, a high-powered amplifier and the AN/ALE-55 Fiber-Optic Towed Decoy (pictured).
The rapid response was enabled by collaboration among small focus teams that developed an innovative approach to the design and fabrication of the system’s mechanical parts.
As a result, BAE Systems will design, build, integrate, and ship the RFCM system in approximately five months, followed by two months of flight testing on the P-8A Poseidon.
Testing will begin early in 2021.
Don Davidson, director of the Advanced Compact Electronic Warfare Solutions product line at BAE Systems, said: ‘A process that used to take 18 to 24 months has been scaled to five or six months, which is remarkable, as is deploying this new self-protection capability.’
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