Posted by Courtney E. Howard
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., 10 Aug. 2010. Raytheon Company won from the U.S. Navy a $42 million contract to develop advanced electronic attack system technology, the Next Generation Jammer. The Next Generation Jammer is scheduled to replace the legacy ALQ-99 jamming pods, providing new capabilities for the U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler, F-35 aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Raytheon completed an initial feasibility study and proposed an innovative airborne electronic attack architecture, concept design, and demonstrator program that will mature the technology for key elements of Next Generation Jammer capability.
"It is our top priority to provide innovative systems to protect U.S. and coalition forces from all threats, including advanced electronic threats," says Nick Uros, vice president for Raytheon's Next Generation Jammer program. "Continuing our heritage of providing combat-proven technologies, components of Raytheon's Next Generation Jammers will provide the power to protect as well as the most affordable and reliable electronic attack measures, assuring mission success."
Using Raytheon's airborne radio-frequency systems and technology expertise, Raytheon's Next Generation Jammer will be built with open architecture technology. In the technology maturation phase, Raytheon's jammer will be developed and tested to ensure spectral precision, power, reactive speed, and directivity. Raytheon is integrating a combination of agile, high-powered jamming techniques, based on combat-proven antenna array technology, and sophisticated, solid-state electronics in a design that doesn't place unnecessary weight on the aircraft.
The approach is based on the company's expertise in developing solutions across the spectrum of potential conflicts an aircrew could face, such as low-intensity, hybrid, and irregular warfare in addition to major regional conflicts.
