Lockheed Martin tests new MH-60R-based EW system

14 December, 2023 Testing of the new EW system. Photo credits: Terri Thomas Lockheed Martin tested an Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) system installed on an MH-60R helicopter platform.

The company announced this on its website. This marked the first test in which the system was integrated into the helicopter platform. Although the system was designed for MH-60R and MR-60S platforms, the test was conducted on the MH-60R.

"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, shared.

Testing of the new EW system. Photo credits: Terri Thomas

AOEW is an electronic warfare system that is one element of missile defense, it will provide the U.S. Navy with enhanced signal intelligence and defense capabilities against anti-ship missile threats.

To date, the system has successfully passed a series of phased development and operational tests at the Lockheed Martin plant in Syracuse, New York. The system can be fully integrated with the Aegis Baseline 9C.2 + system and the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block II. AOEW uses an open hardware architecture that enables rapid upgrades, interoperability, lower lifecycle costs, and rapid adoption of new hardware.

Testing of the new EW system.

Photo credits: Terri Thomas

AOEW architecture and technologies lay the foundation for the creation of similar systems based on small ships, drones, and ground machines.

Militarnyi recently reported that the American company L3 Harris received a contract from the United States Navy to modernize F/A-18 fighters' electronic warfare systems.

L3Harris should develop a new generation EW system, and the cost of the contract is estimated at £80 million.