The US Navy is moving ahead with Next Generation Jammer increment 2 to develop a low-band jamming pod for the Boeing EA-18G Growler and complement the service’s ongoing work on Increment 1's mid-band frequency jammer.
A draft statement of objectives was released by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on 29 June to potential bidders for a preliminary demonstration contract.
NAVAIR has asked industry to how existing technologies meet requirements for a new low-band transmitter, which are generally used to jam early warning radars and voice communication frequencies.
However, the contract will only be used to demonstrate, not mature, technology for increment 2, according to an earlier notice on the Federal Business Opportunities website. The navy plans to release a request for proposals by early fiscal year 2018.
In the notice posted on 29 June, NAVAIR did not release the draft objectives publicly, but described the demonstration as exploring frequency coverage, effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), spatial coverage and spectral purity.
The service had scheduled increment 2 studies to begin in FY2014 and 2015, but funding shortfalls postponed the start date to FY16, the US Government Accountability Office states in a March report. That pushed the start of increment 2’s development from FY2018 to 2020, though programme officials indicate the date could change as studies move ahead.
The US government's proposed FY2018 budget, if approved, would allocate $66.6 million for increment 2 research and development. Milestone B for increment 2 slipped from FY2018 to 2020 and the technology demonstration contract was added to the schedule in the first quarter of 2018, budget documents state.
In 2013, Raytheon won a four-way competition to launch development of the NGJ Increment 1, defeating rival bids by Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and ITT Exelis, which has since been acquired by Harris.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
