The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical transports are to be equipped with Northrop Grumman’s ALQ-251 countermeasures system, the US company announced on 3 April.
“With the increase of advanced radio frequency threats, our digital AN/ALQ-251 system allows the RAAF’s C-130J fleet the freedom of manoeuvre to carry out its wide range of humanitarian and national security missions safely,” says James Conroy, Northrop’s vice-president, navigation, targeting and survivability.
Northrop describes its technology as offering “robust protection against advanced weapon systems and agile electronic warfare systems in dense electromagnetic spectrum environments”. Once installed, it will provide “radar warning, threat identification, geolocation and countermeasure capabilities, with the flexibility to adapt to future threats”, it adds.
“RAAF C-130J integration takes advantage of commonality with a current United States Department of Defense programme of record, reducing lifecycle costs and enabling interoperability,” the company notes.
Australia currently flies 12 C-130Js, and has another 20 of the type on order.
European Defence Editor Craig Hoyle has reported on the UK, European and international military aviation sector for almost 30 years, and has also been the Editor of Flight International since 2015. He joined FlightGlobal in 2003, and also compiles our annual World Air Forces directory.View full Profile
