Kristen Smith
The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman a follow-on contract to produce and deliver the next generation of an electronic warfare tool designed to counter improvised explosive devices and hostile unmanned aircraft systems.
The JCREW/DRAKE 2.0 tool combines the Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare counter-IED system and the Drone Restricted Access Using Known EW counter-UAS capability, Northrop Grumman said Thursday.
JCREW, a Northrop-built Technology Readiness Level 9 system used by the U.S. Navy and Air Force, Australia and New Zealand, provides counter-IED support to on-the-move soldiers, mobile ground vehicles and permanent facilities or infrastructure. It achieved full operational capability in 2023 and is offered in three variants: mounted, dismounted and fixed-site.
DRAKE, recommended by the U.S. Army’s Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office as a C-sUAS detection and defeat system, recently became a Navy program of record.
The JCREW/DRAKE 2.0 tool will feature increased signal processing and frequency range, instantaneous bandwidth and a more capable user interface, Northrop said.
According to Gordie Russell, vice president of communications solutions at Northrop, the system has an open and integrated architecture to support rapid upgrades and mission agility.
The follow-on award increases the value of the four-year base contract to over $161 million.
