The US Air Force has selected three companies to bid for a $200 million programme to field an electronic attack pod aimed at jamming communications networks used by insurgents.
Contracts awarded in early November to BAE Systems, ITT and Raytheon allow each company to mature their technologies ahead of a selection for the new pod.
It is not clear what technology ITT and BAE can offer the USAF, but Raytheon has the communication electronic attack with surveillance and reconnaissance pod.
All three contractors have rushed to react as the USAF has shifted its electronic attack priorities since 2009. After struggling to field a broad capability to jam integrated air defence systems since 2002 it decided to focus on the irregular warfare mission first.
A market survey issued by the USAF asked for a "low-cost, rapidly fieldable counter-communications" system. The service asked for a pod that could be integrated on unmanned aircraft systems, medium-sized and large manned aircraft.
USAF budget documents released in February also requested $200 million for an "electronic attack pod" aimed at irregular warfare targets.
The USAF's new focus on jamming insurgents is a sharp departure from recent priorities. Defeating the networked radars and command-and-control networks that guide the most sophisticated surface-to-air missiles had been its top priority in the electronic attack mission.
However, the service has struggled to fund the requirement. In 2005, the USAF cancelled the Boeing B-52 stand-off jammer system after cost estimates ballooned from $1 billion to $7 billion. Two attempts to revive a less-capable variant called the core component jammer also were dropped.
The USAF redirected funding to the irregular warfare mission after the US Army expressed interest in a similar capability for its General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS.
Source: Flight International
