Crane Keltec to provide high-voltage power supplies for combat jet electronic warfare (EW) systems
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. – U.S. Air Force electronic warfare (EW) experts needed high-voltage power supplies for AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasures (ECM) pods aboard F-16 and A-10 combat aircraft. They found their solution from the Crane Aerospace & Electronics Keltec segment in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency's distribution branch in Warner, Robins, Ga., announced an $11.1 million five-year sole-source contract to Crane late last month for high voltage power supplies for the AN/ALQ-131 EW system on the F-16 jet fighter and A-10 close-air-support jet.
The Northrop Grumman Corp. AN/ALQ-131 provides defensive protection for the F-16 and A-10 aircraft against enemy radar-guided missiles and other anti-aircraft weapons.
Crane Keltec is providing the company's Band 4/5 high-voltage power supply, which is a critical element to the performance and operation of the pod, Air Force officials say. The AN/ALQ-131 EW system's main output path components and subcomponents depend on these Crane high voltage power supplies for power control and conditioning.
The AN/ALQ-131 is attached under the fuselage and wings of the F-16 and A-10. This location subjects the EW system to excessive wind buffeting, engine vibration, acoustic noise vibration, mechanical shock, and contamination from fuel and hydraulic fluid, Air Force officials say.
The AN/ALQ-131 are designed to detect unfriendly radar signals from tracking radar or missile-guidance radar. The pod then employs electronic jamming to disrupt these enemy radar signals.
Air Force officials awarded the contract to Crane Keltec sole-source because the company is the only responsible source for these power supplies, which are necessary for the continued production of the AN/ALQ-131, officials say.
On this contract Crane Keltec will do the work in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and should be finished by September 2022. For more information contact Crane Keltec online at www.craneae.com/AboutUs/Keltec.aspx, or the Defense Logistics Agency's distribution branch at www.dla.mil/Distribution/Locations/WarnerRobins.aspx.
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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.
