On January 14, Bethesda, MD-based Lockheed Martin announced that it has received a $43 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy to upgrade to the AN/ALQ-217 Electronic Support Measures (ESM) system for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.
This modification increases the scope of the
existing E-2D AN/ALQ-217D electronic support measures and provides upgrades to
the receiver/processor, active front end and receiver antenna weapons
replaceable assemblies (WRAs).
These upgrades will give the warfighter additional
performance in dense littoral and open-ocean environments. The system’s
enhanced situational awareness and full autonomy will also reduce operator
workload, enable faster reaction time and improve survivability.
“We are pleased to provide an upgraded AN/ALQ-217
ESM system for our U.S. Navy customer,” said Hamid Salim, vice president,
Advanced Product Solutions, Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems. “The
additional modifications are critical upgrades for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to
improve overall performance in a contested battlespace and provide the
capability required by today’s warfighter.”
The Lockheed Martin team will deliver several
AN/ALQ-217D ESM upgrade kits to support development and test through 2023. This
is a 12-month period of performance adjustment from the initial contract
award.
The base AN/ALQ-217D contract upgrades include
improved Combat Identification (CID) networked-EW for multi-ship geo-location
with other Carrier Air Wing (CVW) aircraft and detection of advanced threat
radar systems. In addition, the upgrades further improve the platform’s
antennas and active front ends (AFEs).
Lockheed Martin has been the AN/ALQ-217 ESM supplier on the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program since 1999. Most of the work will be performed in Owego, New York, and is expected to be completed by September 2023.
Source: Lockheed Martin
By Loren Blinde
January 15, 2020
