US Navy’s SEWIP Block 2 System Rises to the Occasion

Global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has carried out a test on the U.S. Navy’s Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 system, validating the system’s ability to provide protection from evolving anti-ship missile threats.

SEWIP Block 2 is aimed at boosting the AN/SLQ-32(V)2 system found on all U.S. aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other warships with key capabilities to determine if the electronic sensors of potential foes are stalking the ship.

Block 2 obtained a Milestone C decision in January 2013, after which the system began 11 months of land-based testing in preparation for installation on a Navy warship. This test, which successfully completed earlier this month, demonstrated the maturity of the open architecture electronic warfare system by performing full system operation in multiple scenarios.

“We are very proud of the effort the SEWIP team has put into achieving these successes,” said Joseph Ottaviano, director of surface electronic warfare at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training division. “Milestone C is a critical step towards delivering these next generation systems to the Fleet, and we are extremely pleased with the progress and results.”

Work on the SEWIP program is performed at the company’s Syracuse, N.Y. facility, which houses a new electronic warfare system test facility that simulates the complex environment submarines, surface ships and aircraft could operate in.

In January 2012, Lockheed Martin teamed with Raytheon Company, the original developer of the AN/SLQ-32, to pursue the Navy’s competitive SEWIP Block 3 program, which will upgrade the system’s electronic attack electronic warfare capabilities.
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Naval Today Staff, January 15, 2014; Image: Lockheed Martin