Harris Corporation has been awarded a $161 million contract modification to supply the next production lot of electronic jammers to protect U.S. Navy and Australian F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet aircraft against electronic threats.
Harris will manufacture and deliver Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) jammers for the F/A-18C/D/E/F variants, with deliveries under the new contract expected to be completed by May 2021.
The Harris ALQ-214(V)4/5 is the key onboard electronic warfare (EW) jamming system for the IDECM program, protecting the aircraft from electronic threats, including sophisticated integrated air defense systems.
(See a strong overview of the electronic warfare battlespace and the products and capabilities Harris is developing to help the war fighter adapt to an ever-changing environment. Courtesy of Harris Corporation and YouTube)
This award is in addition to the $133 million production lot award received in the first quarter of fiscal 2018.
The company has received more than $1 billion in awards to date from the Naval Air Systems Command for AN/ALQ-214 development and production and was recently recognized by the Navy for maintaining a perfect on-time delivery record over the entire 20-year life of the IDECM program.
“The 20-year flawless delivery record to the Navy is a remarkable achievement, and we look forward to supporting their critical missions for the next 20 years and beyond,” said Ed Zoiss, president, Harris Electronic Systems.
“Our investments and dedication to delivering IDECM systems has helped to keep naval aviators ahead of emerging threats and out of harm’s way.”
The AN/ALQ-214 (IDECM) F/A-18 Countermeasure System blends sensitive receivers and active countermeasures to form an electronic shield for the U.S. Navy and RAAF F/A-18 fighter aircraft.
The RF countermeasure system responds to threats autonomously with a specific series of measures designed to protect the aircraft from detection and engages any fired threats to the aircraft, to ensure mission success.
Features Include:
- Open architecture allows quick modifications for evolving threats
- Designed for both the F/A-18C/D Hornet and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
- Autonomous operation provides instant threat mitigation while the crew remains focused on the mission
- Reprogrammable to theater specific configurations
- Smaller, lighter form factor to meet size, weight, and power challenged platforms
- Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) compliant design
