BY KRIS OSBORNJUL 10, 2017
The Navy is hoping that a new, more powerful, high-tech
electronic warfare jamming technology will allow strike aircraft to destroy
enemy targets without being detected by modern surface-to-air missile defenses.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is adding its
Next-Generation Jammer (NGJ) technology into its next Increment 2 phase to
prepare the electronic warfare system to disable advanced enemy air defenses.
According to a recent draft statement of objective,
NAVAIR is asking industry to come up with technologies for the low-band
transmitters, which is used to jam early warning radars. A report from
FlightGlobal said that the objective is to solicit bidders for a preliminary
demonstration contract.
Given the pace of technological change, and the extent to
which cutting-edge air defenses are rapidly being upgraded, Navy and industry
engineers are planning for the emerging NGJ to be ready by the early 2020s.
The NGJ consists of two 15-foot-long PODs beneath the
EA-18G Growler aircraft designed to emit radar-jamming electronic signals; one
jammer goes on each side of the aircraft.
Radar technology sends an electromagnetic ping forward,
bouncing it off objects before analyzing the return signal to determine a
target's location, size, shape and speed.
However, if the electromagnetic signal is interfered with, thwarted or
jammed in some way, the system is then unable to detect the objects, or target.
The NGJ can jam multiple frequencies at the same time,
Navy and Raytheon officials said.
The emerging system uses a high-powered radar technology
called Active Electronic Scanned Array, or AESA.
The NGJ is intended to replace the existing ALQ 99
electronic warfare jammer currently on Navy Growler aircraft. One of the
drawbacks to ALQ 99 is that it was initially designed 40 years ago and is
challenged to keep up with modern, digital threats with phased array radars,
increased power, increased processing and more advanced wave forms, Navy
developers explained.
The NGJ is being built with open architecture so that it
can quickly integrate new technologies as threats emerge. For example, threat
libraries or databases incorporated into a radar warning receiver can inform
pilots of specific threats such as enemy fighter aircraft or air defenses. If
new adversary aircraft become operational, the system can be upgraded to
incorporate that information.
While radar warning receivers are purely defensive
technologies, the NGJ is configured with offensive jamming capabilities in
support of strike aircraft such as an F/A-18 Super Hornet or F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter.
The jammer is intended to preemptively jam enemy radars
and protect aircraft by preventing air defenses from engaging.
The NGJ could be particularly helpful when it comes to
protecting fighter aircraft and stealth platforms like the B-2 bomber, the Long
Range Strike-Bomber and the F-35 multi-role stealth fighter. The technology is
designed to block, jam, thwart or blind enemy radar systems so to allow attack
aircraft to enter a target area, conduct strikes and then safely exit.
This is useful in today’s modern environment because
radar-evading stealth configurations, by themselves, are no longer as dominant
or effective against current and emerging air defense technologies.
Today’s modern air defenses, such as the Russian-made
S-300 and multi-function S-400 surface-to-air missiles, will increasingly be
able to detect stealth aircraft at longer distances and on a wider range of
frequencies. Today’s most cutting-edge systems, and those being engineered for
the future, use much faster computer processors, digital technology and network
more to one another.
Developers explain that cutting-edge multi-function
radars are more difficult to attack, however they are something the NGJ can
succeed against.
The NGJ is engineered to jam and defeat both surveillance
radar technology which can alert defenses that an enemy aircraft is in the area
as well as higher-frequency engagement radar which allow air defenses to
target, track and destroy attacking aircraft.
Engineers say the NGJ can jam anything that emits or
receives and RF frequency in the frequency range of NGJ.
The Navy awarded Raytheon a $1 billion sole source
contract for Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) for Increment 1 of
the NGJ, the advanced electronic attack technology that combines high-powered,
agile, beam-jamming techniques with cutting-edge, solid-state electronics, a
Raytheon statement said.
Raytheon was tasked with delivering 15 Engineering
Development Model PODs for mission systems testing and qualification, and 14
aeromechanical pods for airworthiness certification.
The NGJ contract also covers designing and delivering
simulators and prime hardware to government labs and support for flight testing
and government system integration, Raytheon officials said.
Overall, the Navy plans to buy as many as 135 sets of
NGJs for the Growler. At the same time, Navy developers did say it is possible
that the NGJ will be integrated onto other aircraft in the future.
Source: defensesystems.com
Related post:
EA-18G Growler: Details
No comments:
Post a Comment