Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] Integrated Common Electronics Warfare System (ICEWS) – a single enterprise solution designed to scale across all ship classes in the Navy’s surface fleet – completed a series of successful Navy-run demonstrations, the company reported this week.
The at-sea demonstration of ICEWS, held earlier last month, followed recent land-based testing and further validates the enterprise approach that Lockheed Martin has taken in developing sensor systems for Navy vessels, the company said.
Lockheed Martin’s ICEWS electronic warfare (EW) solution will compete for the upcoming Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 contract award for the Navy’s next generation upgrade to the AN/SLQ-32 (V) Electronic Support Measures system. SEWIP Block 2 will upgrade the receiver and antenna capabilities, as well as the combat system interface, of the legacy surface EW system, the company said.
Lockheed Martin’s ICEWS was specifically designed to provide a sensors capability upgrade, as well as built-in system commonality, to the AN/SLQ-32 (V) system. The modular ICEWS–which will use common electronics across the enterprise system–will provide the Navy with the latest surface EW capabilities, as well as enhanced agility to upgrade technology as it becomes available to address changing and emerging threats. ICEWS will also provide proven cost savings and ease of maintenance through the use of Commercial Off- The-Shelf (COTS) components, according to Lockheed Martin.
Lockheed Martin’s scalable enterprise approach to ICEWS is based on the company’s Rapid COTS Insertion program, which has been used successfully on EW and sonar system upgrades on all classes of Navy submarines, according to Lockheed Martin.