Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $56,100,000 not-to-exceed, undefinitized contract modification (P00018) to previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract N00019-19-C-0010. This modification provides for the continuation of Block 4 electronic warfare development without creating a gap in engineering resources in support of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. This modification provides systems integration engineering support and procures long lead material to ensure the ASQ-239 electronic warfare/countermeasures production capability remains on track to meet F-35 Lot 17 deliveries.
Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (U.S. Navy) funds in the amount of $6,986,000; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (U.S. Air Force) funds in the amount of $6,986,000; and non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $3,026,680, will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire (85%); and Fort Worth, Texas (15%), and is expected to be completed by December 2020. The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
The ASQ-239 system provides fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft fully integrated radar warning, targeting support, and self-protection functions as part of its digital electronic-warfare (EW) and electronic-countermeasures (ECM) capabilities. The enhanced version of the system within the aircraft enables it to carry on critical missions in contested airspace while making room for additional hardware on the F-35. Following guidelines for reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP), the new EW system matches the performance of previous EW systems on board the fighter aircraft, with a fraction of the size, weight, and power consumption.
Carried out by BAE Systems, new technology has been incorporated into the AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare (EW) system for the global fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft. As part of the upgrade, the company has reduced the footprint of the EW system with decreased volume and power requirements while creating space for Block IV modernisation upgrades. The upgrade makes BAE Systems the first Lockheed Martin F-35 supplier to insert updated technology into its systems at full production speeds. The F-35 EW system digital electronic warfare / countermeasures suite is designed to deliver real-time battlespace situational awareness and rapid response capabilities.
