RTX’s Raytheon business has been awarded a USD 192 million (EUR 174 million) contract from the US Navy to develop the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band Expansion (NGJ-MBX), RTX announced on 1 October 2024.
The NGJ-MBX is an upgrade to the current Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) system. The modification will extend the frequency range of the NGJ-MB system to counter additional threats, while the NGJ-MBX will also provide additional capabilities to improve operational effectiveness.
“Offensive electronic attack provides a tremendous combat capability supporting strike packages and kinetic weapons across a broad range of missions,” Barbara Borgonovi, president of naval power at Raytheon, was quoted as saying in an RTX press release. “With this upgrade we’ll ensure our naval aviators in all theatres are better prepared to counter new adversary threats and provide greater combat power throughout their missions.”
NGJ-MB, to include MBX, is a co-operative development and production programme with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is an airborne electronic attack system consisting of two pods containing active electronically scanned arrays that radiate in the mid-band frequency range.
The NGJ system is being developed to replace the ageing AN/ALQ-99 jammer pods used by the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft operated by the US Navy and RAAF to target advanced electronic warfare threats.
Raytheon was awarded a USD 650.4 million contract by the US Navy for a low-rate initial production batch of 15 AN/ALQ-249(V1) NGJ-MB pod shipsets for the US Navy and RAAF in April 2023.
Work under the NGJ-MBX contract, which will carry through to 2027, will take place in Dallas, Texas; Forest, Michigan; El Segundo, California; and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
