Lockheed to Build Truck-Mounted Electronic Warfare System for US Army
The US Army has selected Lockheed Martin to build a long-range electronic warfare system prototype.
Lockheed beat out General Dynamics Mission Systems to move on to the second phase of the Terrestrial Layer System – Echelons Above Brigade program.
The 11-month first phase involved concept design, system review, and software architecture demonstration. The $36.7 million second phase will provide prototypes for manufacturing proof of concept in a 21-month period.
“Phase 2 advances the prototype from design and lab-based demonstrations to a tangible form factor able to be tested in a relevant environment,” Terrestrial Spectrum Warfare product manager Lt. Col. Kris Haley said.
Offensive and Defensive Capabilities
Launched in 2020, the $163-million program aims to provide long-range situational awareness to warfighters through the integration of cyber, signals intelligence, and electronic warfare capabilities in one platform.
The truck-mounted system will carry sensors, transmitters, and a tethered drone or aerostat to detect enemy signals to help direct artillery and aircraft for strikes.
The system will be able to disrupt enemy electromagnetic signals through a combination of jamming, wireless hacking, and deceptive signals.
For Large-Scale Operations
The system will support lethal and non-lethal effects “in a holistic, synchronized manner for large-scale combat operations,” C4ISRNET quoted US Army project manager Kenneth Strayer as saying.
Lockheed Martin Spectrum Convergence vice president Deon Viergutz added, “Moving into this next phase, we are going to continue to embrace Soldier Touch Points to drive the design while leveraging a proven DevSecOps (development, security, and operations) pipeline and an open architecture that will enable a highly interoperable, configurable 21st-century Security solution that can be easily tailored for specific mission requirements.”
Meanwhile, Lockheed is also involved in two other army programs supporting intelligence and EW modernization efforts: Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team and the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare-Air Large.
