Raytheon wins $76.1 million order for electronic warfare (EW)-equipped MALD-J radar-jamming drones
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., 15 Nov. 2016. U.S. Air Force airborne weapons experts are asking Raytheon Co. to build potentially hundreds of electronic warfare (EW) radar-jammingdrones under terms of a four-year $76.1 million sole-source contract announced Thursday.
Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., are asking the Raytheon Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz., to provide lot 10 of the Miniature Air Launched Decoy Jammers (MALD-J), which are relatively simple air-launched unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) designed to jam enemy radar.
MALD-J is an electronic jamming version of the Raytheon Miniature Air Launched Decoy drone that navigates and operates much closer than conventional EW to the victim radar, Raytheon officials say. Last June Raytheon won a $118.5 million order for lot 9 of MALD-J production.
The MALD-J EW drone can loiter in the target area for an extended time to help keep manned aircraft out of harm's way. The MALD-J low-cost, air-launched programmable unmanned aircraft that duplicates the combat flight profiles and signatures of U.S. and allied aircraft.
By duplicating the radar signatures of manned aircraft the MALD-J can spoof enemy radar and tempt ground-to-air missiles to shoot at the wrong targets. These systems attempt to force enemy missile batteries to run out of missiles to clear the way for manned attack aircraft.
Related: Programmable radar and adaptive electronic warfare take center stage
MALD is an expendable air-launched unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that presents a radar signature that looks like a U.S. or allied aircraft to enemy integrated air defense systems (IADS). The U.S. and its allies use MALD and its jamming companion MALD-J to confuse and deceive enemy air defenses by sending a formation of these smart drones into hostile airspace.
MALD weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of about 500 nautical miles. After it is launched from its host aircraft, MALD flies a pre-programmed mission.
In addition to protecting valuable aircraft, MALD offers counter air operations to neutralize air defense systems that pose a threat to U.S. and allied pilots.
Major suppliers to the MALD system include AML Communications in Camarillo, Calif.; AUSCO in Port Washington, N.Y.; BAE Systems in Berthoud, Colo.; CEI in Sacramento, Calif.; Celestica in Austin, Texas; Eagle Pitcher in Joplin, Mo.; EDO in Bohemia, N.Y.; Enser in Pinellas Park, Fla.; Engineered Fabrics Corp. in Rockmart, Ga.; GDOTS in Redmond, Wash.; Hamilton-Sundstrand in Rockford, Ill. and San Diego; LaBarge in Joplin, Mo.; Moog in East Aurora, N.Y.; and Tecom in Westlake Village, Calif.
On this contract Raytheon will do the work in Tucson, Ariz., and should be finished by June 2020. For more information contact Raytheon Missile Systems online at www.raytheon.com, or the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at www.wpafb.af.mil/aflcmc.
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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.
