Northrop Grumman Secures Exclusive Role in Revolutionizing US Air Force’s F-16 Electronic Warfare Suite
The U.S. Air Force has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) to finalize the project efforts aimed at delivering the electronic warfare suite for its F-16 fighter jet fleet. This vital capability will safeguard pilots against the increasing threat of radio frequency-guided weapons by detecting, identifying, and neutralizing advanced threat systems. The agreement was made under SOSSEC Consortium’s Air Force Open System Acquisition Initiative (OSAI) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) for prototyping. Northrop Grumman will collaborate with non-traditional defense contractors for the successful execution of this OTA project.
“The electronic warfare suite will greatly enhance protection for F-16 operators as they conduct their missions in progressively contested environments,” stated Ryan Tintner, Vice President of Navigation, Targeting, and Survivability at Northrop Grumman. “This system utilizes the best of our expertise from multiple programs to construct an effective and cost-efficient solution to ensure the Viper remains relevant throughout its operational life.”
The system delivers comprehensive radar warning, threat identification, and advanced countermeasure functionalities. It also exhibits proven pulse-to-pulse compatibility with the F-16’s newly integrated AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), which is also developed by Northrop Grumman.
This electronic warfare suite harnesses an open systems, ultra wideband architecture, offering increased instantaneous bandwidth required to counter modern threats. The F-16 system is part of a well-established product line of electronic warfare capabilities that can be tailored to protect virtually any platform or mission requirement. It shares a unified technology baseline with the AC/MC-130J Radio Frequency Countermeasures Program and AN/APR-39 radar warning receivers.
The configuration of the electronic warfare suite is adaptable to fulfill both U.S. and international partners’ operational necessities in either an internal or podded setup.
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