Navy asks BAE Systems to build 200 electronic warfare (EW) RF jammers to counter anti-aircraft missiles
Summary points:
- BAE Systems will design and build 200 Dual Band Decoy (DBD) sets to protect F/A-18E/F aircraft from radar-guided missiles.
- The DBD system counters modern threats operating on X- and S-band frequencies to enhance aircraft survivability in contested airspace.
- The DBD is replacing existing ALE-55 and ALE-50 decoys with improved performance without aircraft modifications.
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – U.S. Navy electronic warfare (EW) experts are looking to BAE Systems for a dual-band towed decoy to help U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F jet fighter-bomber pilots avoid modern sophisticated enemy radar-guided anti-aircraft missiles.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced a $40.9 million order in late June to the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Nashua, N.H., to design and build 200 Dual Band Decoy (DBD) countermeasures sets to provide off-board EW countermeasures protection for the F/A-18E/F.
The DBD towed decoy helps protect crews of area-penetrating attack jets like the F/A-18E/F from enemy radar-guided anti-aircraft missiles that operate on two separate frequencies, such as X-band and S-band.
Dual-band radar
Dual-band radar is particularly difficult to jam, and poses a serious threat to U.S. aircraft that must operate in contested airspace. The DBD towed body trails behind the aircraft on a tether to draw the attention of enemy missiles and protect the aircraft from being hit.
The DBD RF jammer is replacing the ALE-55 round assembly (T-1622/ALE-55(V)) and ALE-50 advanced airborne expendable decoy (AAED) (RT-1646E/ALE) deployed today onboard the F/A-18E/F to protect the aircraft from radar-guided missiles.
Navy experts expect the DBD to meet or exceed all ALE-55 performance requirements, plus expanded RF requirements. BAE Systems engineers will design the system be compatible with all existing aircraft electrical interfaces on ALE-55 electronic frequency converter (EFC) (CV-4334/ALE-55(V)), ALE-50 integrated multi-platform launch controller (IMPLC) (CD-108B/ALE-50(V)), T-3F launcher (D-71/ALE-50A(V), and magazine (MX-12196/ALE-50A(V)).
Size near ALE-55 and ALE-50
Navy officials want the DBD assembly to be compatible with the T-3F magazine and launcher, and want the DBD round assembly's mass to be as close as possible to the ALE-55 and ALE-50 round decoy assemblies.
BAE Systems also is designing the DBD to be compatible with the CCU-136A/A impulse cartridge for deployment and sever, yet with no additional hardware modifications to integrate the DBD system aboard the F/A-18E/F aircraft. The Navy is urging BAE systems to capitalize on existing systems or subsystems from other programs to reduce costs, schedule, and design risks.
On this order BAE Systems will do the work in Nashua and Keene, N.H.; Wenatchee, Wash.; Fremont, Calif.; Hopkinton and Wilmington, Mass.; and Newark, Del., and should be finished by November 2027. For more information contact BAE Systems Electronic Systems online at www.baesystems.com/en-us/who-we-are/electronic-systems, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.

John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.