Navy asks Northrop Grumman for electronic warfare (EW) and radar warning receivers for MV-22B tiltrotor
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – U.S. Navy avionics experts are asking engineers at Northrop Grumman Corp. to build eight electronic warfare (EW) avionics sets for the Navy MV-22B medium-lift tiltrotor aircraft under terms of a $9.1 million order announced in April.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems segment in Rolling Meadows, Ill., for eight AN/APR-39 D(V)2 radar warning receiver/electronic warfare management systems, and eight D(V)2 battery handle assemblies for the MV-22B tiltrotor.
The AN/APR-39 family of radar warning receivers is for a variety of Navy aircraft and ships. It detects radar threats to aircraft, such as radar ground sites and particularly radar-guided missiles, and provides 360-degree coverage around the aircraft. When the system detects radar threats, it alerts the aircraft crew to each threat with a graphic symbol on the cockpit display.
Northrop Grumman also won a $106.6 million U.S. Army order last December for AN/APR-39 avionics, and an $18.1 million Navy contract last September for AN/APR-39D(V)2 EW and radar warning receiver avionics equipment.
The AN/APR-39D(V)2 is the latest upgrade to the AN/APR-39 radar warning receiver that corrects deficiencies and enhances capability in the same weight and dimensions as the previous system. The upgrade calls for a new digital receiver for the AN/APR-39D(V)2.
The APR-39 provides the pilot and air crew with information on threat types, bearing, and the severity of the threat. The system also gives the aircrew synthetic speech audio threat warnings.
The APR-39 also functions as an electronic warfare management system, and serves as the heart of Northrop Grumman's suite of integrated sensors and countermeasures that integrates and displays data from onboard sensors radio frequency and electro-optical sensors.
The Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey uses tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. It features vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities, and is designed long-range high-speed missions.
In addition to the AN/APR-39D(V)2, aircraft's avionics has a weather radar, a forward firing ALE-47 airborne countermeasures dispenser system, improved hover coupled features, and an improved environmental conditioning system, compared to earlier versions of the tiltrotor.
The V-22 has a glass cockpit with four multi-function displays that are compatible with night-vision goggles, and one shared central display unit to display various images including: digital maps, imagery from the turreted forward-looking infrared system, primary flight instruments, navigation, and system status.
The V-22B is a joint service, multirole combat aircraft that uses tiltrotor technology to combine the speed and range of a fixed-wing airplane with the vertical performance of a helicopter. The tiltrotor aircraft has triple-redundant fly-by-wire flight control with computerized damage control to isolate damaged areas automatically.
With its nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land, and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, its nacelles rotate forward to transform the aircraft into a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed and high-altitude flight.
The Marine Corps MV-22B transports warfighters, equipment, and supplies from ships and land bases for combat assault and assault support.
The aircraft also supports naval missions like combat search and rescue, fleet logistics support, special warfare support, amphibious assault, ship-to-objective maneuvers, and sustained operations ashore. The MV-22B can transport 24 combat troops and 20,000 pounds of internal cargo, or 15,000 pounds of external cargo.
On this contract Northrop Grumman will do the work in Rolling Meadows, Ill.; Woburn, Mass.; Lansdale, Pa.; San Leandro, Calif.; Lewisburg, Tenn.; Longmont, Colo.; Verona, Wis.; Salt Lake City; Newark, Del.; Melbourne, Fla.; Baltimore, and should be finished by May 2027. For more information contact Northrop Grumman Mission Systems online at www.northropgrumman.com/who-we-are/business-sectors/mission-systems, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
