Air Force starts installing EPAWSS advanced electronic warfare (EW) avionics aboard F-15E combat aircraft
SAN ANTONIO – Military avionics experts from the Boeing Co. have begun installing an advanced electronic warfare (EW) system on the U.S. Air Force fleet of F-15E jet fighter-bomber aircraft.
The Air Force supervised the first installations of the F-15 Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS) on operational F-15E aircraft in July at the Boeing facility in San Antonio.
Boeing previously installed EPAWSS hardware on eight test F-15 combat aircraft and is installing the system on the new F-15EX aircraft at the Boeing production facility in St. Louis.
F-15 EPAWSS replaces an analog, federated system with a next-generation, digital, integrated EW suite that enables the F-15 to operate in a modern threat environment with dense radio-frequency backgrounds.
The updated EW avionics improves pilot situational awareness with the capability to autonomously detect, identify, and locate threat systems, and then deny, degrade, and disrupt those threats.
Boeing manufactures the F-15 and serves as the integrator for the program, and BAE Systems is producing the advanced EW hardware.
In 2021 and 2022, the program team delivered six iterations of mission system software, conducted 12 major ground test events, participated in three open air range events/exercises, and flew 1,521 hours in flight test, all while standing up the modification line in San Antonio and building up sustainment capabilities.
In addition to maturing system performance, over the past 18 months the combined government-industry program team completed final development and qualification of the EW hardware, ensuring the system meets reliability and maintainability metrics, laying the foundation for long-term system sustainment.
EPAWSS increases the aircrew's situational awareness, helps them understand when they are being targeted by radar, and it provides them with advanced techniques to counter modern integrated air defense systems.
