Navy asks BAE Systems to integrate electronic warfare (EW) towed decoy aboard subsonic aerial target drone
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – U.S. Navy airborne electronic warfare (EW) experts needed a towed decoy for use on the BQM-34S target drone and ALQ-167 EW pod system for use on full-scale fixed wing aircraft. They found a solution from the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Nashua, N.H.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced their intention last week to negotiate a contract with BAE Systems to develop an ALE-55 towed decoy system for use on the Northrop Grumman BQM-34S aerial target drone and the ALQ-167 EW pod.
Subsonic target drone
The subsonic BQM-34S Firebee high performance aerial target is recoverable, remote-controlled, and can fly as fast as 0.9 Mach and altitudes from 10 to 45,000 feet. The uncrewed aerial target is ground- or air-launched, and can survive abrupt turns as strong as five Gs. It simulates the behavior of enemy aircraft and missiles for air-to-air combat training.
The BQM-34S's large payload capacity make it useful for fleet training and weapon system research, development, test, and evaluation, experts say. The target drone is 23 feet long, has a 12.9-foot wingspan, and can fly for as long as one hour.
Navy officials say they expect to award a sole-source contract to BAE Systems sometime this summer, with delivery in seven months from contract award. BAE Systems is the only source able to do this job, Navy officials say.
The company is the sole manufacturer of the ALE-55 Advanced Off-Board (AOB) Pod, and is the only known contractor with the knowledge to install the ALE-55 aboard the BQM-34S, and to install the ALQ-167 pod system for use on full-scale fixed-wing aircraft, Navy officials say.
Airborne jamming pod
The ALQ-167 Angry Kitten jamming pod is an electronic countermeasures threat simulation pod that uses the ULQ-21 countermeasures set to cover a frequency range of 425 MHz to 18 GHz to generate electronic noise and deception to help defeat enemy radar and missiles.
The ALQ-167 is from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in Atlanta, and integrated by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. in Poway, Calif.
The BAE Systems ALE-55 is designed to protect the Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrier-based combat aircraft from radar-guided missiles by transmitting complex electronic countermeasures signals from a transmitter that trails behind the combat jet to spoof incoming radar-guided anti-aircraft missiles.
The aircraft-towed decoy with onboard electronics works together with the Super Hornet's electronic warfare system to jam radar seekers in air-to-air missiles. The system also can lure incoming missiles away from their actual targets.
Radar jamming
The ALE-55 detects a threat radar in its acquisition mode and uses radar jamming to prevent it from locking to a target. The ALE-55's missile defense electronic warfare package analyzes the threat, and the towed decoy emits the jamming signals to confuse the incoming missile's tracking radar. If an incoming missile locks on with radar, the ALE-55 analyzes the signal to determine the best jamming technique to break radar lock.
The ALE-55 system consists of an onboard electronic frequency converter (EFC) and a fiber-optic towed decoy. The EFC converts radio frequency signals sent from the plane’s electronic warfare system into data coded and transmitted via light to the fiber optic towed decoy.
For more information contact BAE Systems Electronic Systems online at www.baesystems.com/en/our-company/our-businesses/electronic-systems, Northrop Grumman at www.northropgrumman.com/what-we-do/air/bqm-34-firebee, Georgia Tech Research Institute at www.gtri.gatech.edu, or General Atomics Aeronautical Systems at www.ga-asi.com.
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.
