The Lockheed Martin [LMT] Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) system’s electronic attack capabilities were successfully tested on a Navy helicopter in a recent test, the company said on Tuesday.
The company said this was the first time in the program’s development that the AOEW pod-based EW system was able to perform “engagement testing, demonstrate the ability to defeat threats, and quantify system performance, while integrated and controlled by the target platform.”
In this case, the system was installed on a Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, itself built by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky subsidiary.
Lockheed Martin told Defense Daily the testing occurred in August and September.
The AOEW electronic attack capabilities are designed for both the MH-60R and MH-60S helicopter variants, but only the 60R was used in the test. This integration test had the company work with the Navy’s Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
Previously, the system underwent incremental developmental and operational tests at the company’s facility in Syracuse, N.Y.
The MH-60R is focused on anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, electromagnetic warfare, command and control, and non-combat operations while the MH-60S focuses on anti-surface warfare, combat support, humanitarian disaster relief, combat search and rescue, aero medical evacuation, SPECWAR and organic Airborne Mine Countermeasures.
The company said AOEW is particularly aimed at improving the Navy’s electronic surveillance and attack capabilities against anti-ship missiles. It is also designed to be fully integrated with Aegis Baseline 9C.2+ and the Surface Warfare Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block II.
“The AOEW system is one of the most advanced, complex electronic warfare systems ever developed,” Deon Viergutz, vice president of Spectrum Convergence at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement.
He added that AOEW is designed with “evolutionary capabilities” set up to be completely programmable “so that it can develop, deliver and deploy new techniques as the threat landscape changes.”
This means it has open systems architecture that should permit quick upgrades, interoperability, insertion of new hardware and lower lifecycle costs.
Lockheed Martin said the AOEW pod is scheduled for more tests and demonstration on host platforms in 2024. The system is currently under a low-rate initial production contract, with the first units expected to be delivered next year.
The company argued these developments and architecture “lay the groundwork” to offer similar capabilities on other platforms like small ships or unmanned aerial and surface vehicles.