Northrop Grumman has received a follow-on production contract from the US Navy for the AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 systems, advancing maritime electronic warfare capability.
The third in a series of incremental upgrades, SEWIP Block 3 adds an electronic attack (EA) capability to the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare (EW) system to defend ships against anti-ship missiles.
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It is installed on Surface Combatants, which aids in defeating legacy and emerging anti-ship threats with the help of non-kinetic/electronic attack methodologies.
The approach of the company is based on a ‘software defined, hardware enabled’ open architecture that can integrate with other combat systems and adopt the latest electronic attack capabilities.
It will ensure that the system is prepared for the threat and aids the Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) CONOPS of the US Navy.
The contract, which is worth $100.7m, is for the initial follow on production lot of AN/SLQ-32(V)7 SEWIP Block 3 electronic warfare systems.
The contract has a $1.16bn maximum value.
Initially, the system will be installed on the Arleigh-Burke class destroyers, before being rolled out to other classes of ship.
Northrop Grumman maritime/land systems and sensors vice-president and general manager Ingrid Vaughan said: “With this follow-on production award, Northrop Grumman will continue to provide game-changing maritime EW capability that will underpin future Fleet Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare operations.
“We are writing a new chapter in the evolution of the AN/SLQ-32 that will fundamentally change how the Fleet will win the fight for years to come.”
