SYRACUSE, N.Y., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Full system operations of a Lockheed Martin upgrade to the U.S. Navy's AN/SLQ-32(V)2 electronic warfare system have validated its defensive capability.
The upgrade, being performed under the service's Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 2, provides U.S. Navy ships with the capability to detect if they are being tracked electronically by an adversary. The upgrade received Milestone C status – a decision by the Navy to initiate production and deployment of a system – early last year, which was followed by 11 months of ground-based testing prior to the system's integration aboard a ship.
The most recent test, 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."
The passive detection capability to the Navy's AN/SLQ-32(V)2 electronic warfare system will be integrated aboard all Navy aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers.
