Navy asks Lockheed Martin to upgrade electronic warfare (EW) systems aboard E-2D carrier aircraft
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – Avionics experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. will upgradeelectronic warfare (EW) systems aboard the U.S. Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye carrier-based airborne early warning aircraft under terms of a $64.7 million five-year contract announced Monday.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking the Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems segment in Owego, N.Y., to upgrade the advanced digital receiver and processor (ADRP) and active front end (AFE) in the E-2D's AN/ALQ-217 electronic support measures (ESM) systems. Lockheed Martin will deliver 16 ESM ADRP upgrade kits.
Electronic support measures represent one branch of EW that detects, intercepts, identifies, locates, records, and analyzes radio signals for threat recognition and EW planning. It can warn, for example, that a fire-control radar has locked on a combat vehicle, ship, or aircraft.
Electronic Support data can support signals intelligence (SIGINT), communications intelligence (COMINT) and electronics intelligence (ELINT) by passive listening to electromagnetic radiations of military interest.
The Navy Northrop Grumman E-2D is a tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft designed to operate from aircraft carriers. The twin-engine turboprop aircraft has a distinctive saucer-like antenna, and provides the carrier battle group with wide-area radar surveillance for enemy monitoring and combat air traffic control.
Related: Navy asks Northrop Grumman to upgrade intelligence broadcast avionics aboard E-2D aircraft
The Lockheed Martin AN/ALQ-217 ESM system functions as the ears of the E-2D and other advanced tactical aircraft. As a passive sensor system, the AN/ALQ-217 identifies and locates sources of radio frequency (RF) emission. The system is tailorable through mission data loads, which E-2D operators can reload in flight to adapt to specific geographic regions.
The AN/ALQ-217 uses an open-systems architecture and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processing. The system has four antennas, four active front ends, and a combined receiver and processor.
The subsystem architecture divides the RF operating range into three bands: low, mid, and high, each of which provides 360-degree acquisition coverage.
The AN/ALQ-217 is designed to perform in dense littoral and open-ocean environments; has adaptable system performance; has tailorable hardware and software to new platforms; and fast reaction time, Lockheed Martin officials say. The system provides fast angle of arrival information and weapon system identification; identifies the type, function, and mode of the intercepted emitters; and can pinpoint emitter position quickly.
On this contract Lockheed Martin will do the work in Owego, N.Y., and Clearwater, Fla., and should be finished by June 2022. For more information contact Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems online at www.lockheedmartin.com, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.
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John Keller | Editor
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.
