The US Navy has awarded a rapid response contract to BAE Systems to demonstrate a new radio frequency countermeasure (RFCM) system for the next-generation P-8A Poseidon military aircraft.
Under the contract, the RFCM system will be designed, built, integrated, and shipped in about five months.
After the integration, the self-protection system will undergo two months of flight testing on the P-8A platform.
The RFCM system is a pod-mounted, advanced lightweight, high-power system designed to deliver a new self-protection capability to the aircraft.
The system features a factor jammer, a high-powered amplifier, and the AN/ALE-55 fibre-optic towed decoy.
According to BAE Systems, partnerships among small focus teams have developed an ‘innovative approach’ to the design and fabrication of mechanical parts of the RFCM system.
BAE Systems Advanced Compact Electronic Warfare Solutions product line director Don Davidson said: “The ability to meet this unprecedented response time underscores our agility, focus on meeting customer needs, and our ultimate goal of protecting our warfighters.
“A process that used to take 18 to 24 months has been scaled to five or six months, which is remarkable, as is deploying this new self-protection capability.”
Work will be performed at BAE Systems’ facility in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Last month, BAE Systems secured a $184m Lot I full-rate production (FRP) contract from the US Marine Corps for 36 amphibious combat vehicles.
