U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has ordered radio countermeasures equipment for its AC-130J and MC-130J aircraft variants.
Under a $32 million contract with Northrop Grumman, the company's Land and Avionics C4ISR division will supply radio frequency countermeasures (RFCM) for the planes.
"Our solution is designed to detect and defeat not only current radio frequency threats, but also to have the flexibility to protect our warfighters as the threat evolves," said Northrop Grumman vice president Jeff Palombo said in a company news release. "Our solution is built upon our high confidence aircraft protection systems of today, coupled with an open architecture approach that enables our offering to grow to a multi-spectral, multi-function capability for the future. This approach is a subtle, yet important characteristic of our offering that protects our customer's investment in their initial RFCM system procurement while positioning AFSOC AC/MC-130 gunships for the complex battlespace of the immediate future."
BAE Systems also received a $20 million contract to provide RFCM for the AC-130J and MC-130J. "This award is a significant milestone as it not only builds on our strong electronic warfare legacy, but also extends our proven electronic warfare capability to a large platform aircraft," said Brian Walters, vice president of electronic combat systems at BAE. "Our all-digital RFCM system will ensure the mission-critical C-130J fleet remains capable and protected in the harshest environments."
