Electronic Warfare System for US Navy Surface Enterprise EW Solution

BALTIMORE: Northrop Grumman Corporation recently completed the land-based test phase of the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare (MFEW) system at the Naval Research Lab's (NRL) Chesapeake Bay Detachment (CBD) in Chesapeake Beach, Md., as part of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) MFEW/ES program.

The final demonstration capped off over seven months of test and evaluation against key performance requirements established for the new DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers. "NRL and ONR have been pleased with results so far and are looking forward to completing the testing and data evaluation necessary to support a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 designation," said Mark Kula, vice president of Northrop Grumman's Radio Frequency Combat and Information Systems business unit.

"Our initial focus for MFEW has been application to forward fit ships such as DDG-1000 and CVN-21 Ford-class aircraft carriers. The design utilizes a modular, open systems approach developed in concert with the surface Navy community and can also support backfit applications across a wide variety of platforms," Kula said.

"The tests performed at CBD demonstrated the ability to track simulated threats while the antenna array pitched and rolled at Sea State 5. This creates a worst case scenario for the already difficult problem of performing precision direction finding on a surface ship. The Northrop Grumman MFEW design utilizes digital receiver technology and advanced processing to detect and classify a wide variety of signal types to meet operational requirements in a tactically relevant environment," said Kula.

The next steps for Northrop Grumman's MFEW system include at-sea testing onboard a U.S. Navy ship as part of the RIMPAC / TAPA II exercise this summer followed by a return to CBD for further integration with the Advanced Multi-Function RF Concept test bed.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.