Defense technology companies Lockheed Martin and Cobham announced they are joining forces to bid for the US Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) program to replace the current ALQ-99 tactical jamming system currently on the E/A-18 Growler aircraft.
The NGJ-LB system will be integrated on the EA-18G aircraft and will replace the ALQ-99 low band pods. The ALQ-99 is a tactical jamming system that has been deployed on the EA-6B Prowler and now the EA-18G Growler. The NGJ-LB system will provide significantly greater electronic attack capabilities in the lower frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum against modern threats.
The two companies are combining critical capabilities areas of expertise for the project. Cobham developed and was the only production partner to the US Navy for the ALQ-99 Low Band Transmitter/Antenna Group (LBT/AG) and has been supporting the LBT/AG program for more than 20 years.
Lockheed Martin has been developing electronic warfare solutions for more than 40 years and has experience with various airborne and naval electronic warfare programs, including the Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) system and the multi-mission AN/ALQ-210 and AN/ALQ-217 Electronic Support Measures (ESM) systems for the US Navy.
“The Lockheed Martin and Cobham team will leverage expertise in both companies to offer the US Navy a critically important system with increased capability and reduced risk,” said Joe Ottaviano, director of electronic warfare at Lockheed Martin. “Our team is confident we can meet the Navy’s need for improved jamming capabilities with a scalable, open architecture design that balances capabilities with size, weight and power constraints.”