Nichols Martin
Frederick Stefany, the acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, has declared a Raytheon Technologies-made mid-band jamming pod ready for low-rate initial production.
The Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band program has achieved Milestone C, which allows the system to undergo production and deployment, Naval Air Systems Command said Tuesday.
NGJ-MB will use active electronically scanned array technology to jam electronic warfare threats and enemy ground communication systems.
The new jamming pod will perform its functions from EA-18G Growler aircraft and replace the existing ALQ-99 system. Raytheon and the Navy put NGJ-MB in over 3,100 hours of laboratory testing and 145 hours of flight testing.
Raytheon helped the Navy design, develop and test the new jamming pod under a $1.01 billion contract awarded in 2016.
The company held the first NGJ-MB flight test using the Growler in August 2020.
“After hundreds of hours of successful ground and chamber testing, NGJ-MB’s first Growler flight test marked a significant achievement for the program toward Milestone C and [Initial Operational Capability],” said Annabel Flores, vice president of electronic warfare systems for Raytheon’s intelligence and space business.
