Lockheed Martin to provide airborne electronic warfare systems for Apache attack helicopters

Dec. 10, 2015
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill., 10 Dec. 2015. Radar experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. will provide airborne electronic warfare (EW) digital radar receivers for foreign military attack helicopters under terms of a $53 million contract announced Wednesday.

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill., 10 Dec. 2015. Radar experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. will provide airborne electronic warfare (EW) digital radar receivers for foreign military attack helicopters under terms of a $53 million contract announced Wednesday.

Officials of the U.S. Army Contracting Command at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., are asking the Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training segment in Owego, N.Y., to provide 34 AN/APR-48B Modernized-Radar Frequency Interferometer (M-RFI) systems for military helicopters in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and South Korea under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

The M-RFI passive RF and microwave sensor is a digital radar receiver system for the AH-64 Apache Guardian attack helicopter (formerly Apache Block III) that provides accurate information under ever-changing battlefield conditions and EW attacks called intentional electromagnetic interference, Army officials say.

The FMS program means that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) negotiates terms with the contractor on behalf of the foreign governments involved. The foreign governments pay the cost of the contract, plus a percentage to DOD for administrative expenses.

Related: Army orders 35 AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters in $591.2 million contract to Boeing

M-RFI is installed on the AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter and backwards compatible to legacy AH-64D Apache Longbow, Lockheed Martin officials say. Its digital receiver-based signal intercept, positive identification, fast response time, and precision direction finding capabilities establish it as a targeting system and radar warning receiver for helicopters.

Modern target acquisition, threat identification, and radar warning receivers must function at long ranges and rapidly locate and identify targets to place weapons on target accurately, as well as protect the attack helicopter from enemy radar-guided missiles and weapons.

The system must perform target acquisition and cueing for the fire-control radar system in the AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter, Army officials say. It also must warn helicopter crews of radar-directed anti-aircraft weapons and serve as the controller for an integrated aircraft survivability equipment system.

story continues below

The M-RFI provides high sensitivity and precision angle of attack in a lightweight, modular configuration suitable for airborne or ground-based platforms, both manned and unmanned, Army officials say.

The system also operates independently of other sensors to provide enhanced situational awareness. Wednesday's contract is for 34 M-RFI kits, three sets of initial spares, and one set of lay-in spare parts.

On this contract Lockheed Martin will do the work in Owego, N.Y., and should be finished by March 2019. For more information contact Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training online at www.lockheedmartin.com/us/mst, or the Army Contracting Command at Rock Island Arsenal at www.acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc_ri.

About the Author

John Keller | Editor

John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Military Aerospace, create an account today!