Navy chooses power electronics from Crane Power Solutions for AN/ALQ-99 airborne electronic warfare jammers
Jan. 7, 2011
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla., 7 Jan. 2011.Electronic warfare specialists at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Calif., needed high-voltage power electronics modules for the AN/ALQ-99 airborne integrated jamming system for the Navy's EA-6B and EA-18G carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft. They found their solution from the Crane Aerospace & Electronics Power Solutions segment in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Crane Power Solutions won a $14.2 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for Keltec Band 9/10 transmitter high-voltage power modules for the AN/ALQ-99 airborne electronic warfare system for the EA-6B and EA-18G aircraft. Previously the AN/ALQ-99 was installed on the now-retired U.S. Air Force EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft.
Under the contract, Crane Power Solutions will work closely with the Navy Airborne Electronic Attack Systems Division at Point Mugu in support of the ALQ-99 electronic jamming pod. These high-voltage modules are designed to drive several traveling wave tubes for jamming oncoming missile threats. The production is scheduled to begin this month in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. and should be finished by June 2013.
The EA-6B and EA-18G carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft suppress enemy radar air defenses prior to bomber attacks by jamming the radar signals, and also by destroying radar installations with the High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) system.
"We are pleased to have been selected and are confident that with our clear focus on electronic warfare and radar systems, we can achieve the necessary results to sustain this platform," says Ed Fuhr, vice president of Crane Power Solutions. For more information contact Crane Aerospace & Electronics online at www.craneae.com.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
