Raytheon’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band Ready for Production

The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon $172 million to start low-rate initial production of the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band, after finishing the Milestone C assessment for the programme.

This contract procures three Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band low rate initial production Lot One ship sets, associated spares, gold units for operational test program set development and associated technical data.

Work is expected to be completed in October 2023.

The Navy plans to field three jammers on its Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft: low-, mid- and high-band. The Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band is to replace the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System currently used on the EA-18G.

The new jammer is software controlled and uses an active electronically scanned array, instead of a mechanically scanned array, which allows for faster and more precise broadcast of radio waves. It is intended for offensive electronic attacks against air-defense and communications systems. Electronic warfare attacks, such as radar jamming, have been used by the U.S. forces in past wars to temporarily blind, frustrate and confuse opponents, allowing them the opportunity to engage the enemy. The mid-band jammer would attack systems that use the middle band of radio frequencies.

A Raytheon release said July 18:

NGJ-MB is the Navy's advanced electronic attack system that offensively denies, disrupts and degrades enemy technology, including air-defense systems and communications. It uses the latest digital, software-based and Active Electronically Scanned Array technologies. This allows operators to non-kinetically attack significantly more targets and at greater distances.

"With its power and ability to jam multiple radars simultaneously, NGJ-MB will fundamentally change the way the Navy conducts airborne electronic attack," said Annabel Flores, vice president of Electronic Warfare Systems for RI&S. "NGJ-MB will increase the survivability and lethality of fourth-and fifth-generation fighters, making naval aviation that much more effective."

The award follows last week's Milestone C decision, advancing the program into the production and deployment phase. NGJ-MB has completed more than 145 hours of developmental flight-testing using mission systems and aeromechanical systems.

The program has also completed over 3,100 hours of anechoic chamber and lab testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California. Chamber tests evaluated the system's performance both on and off the EA-18G Growler aircraft, in addition to jamming techniques and reliability testing.