Raytheon Co., the world's largest missile-maker, has received a $1 billion contract from the U.S. Navy to develop new jammers for EA-18G Growler aircraft.
The agreement calls for the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company to supply the sea service with 15 Next Generation Jammer, or NGJ, pods, according to the contract announcement released on Wednesday evening.
The new tactical jammer is designed to replace the decades-old ALQ-99 system that currently exists on the electronic attack aircraft made by Boeing Co. Raytheon was selected for the program in 2013.
On its website, Raytheon says the electronic attack and jamming technology can be used on both traditional manned aircraft as well as drones.
"Built with a combination of high-powered, agile beam-jamming techniques, and cutting-edge solid-state electronics, our NGJ systems will meet the U.S. Navy's current mission needs while providing a cost-effective open systems architecture for future upgrades," the site states. "The proven expertise we bring to the NGJ effort will yield a low-risk, highly reliable baseline solution with opportunities for growth on additional manned and unmanned platforms."
Under the terms of the agreement, Raytheon will also build 14 so-called aero-mechnical test pods, "which will be used to verify aircraft flying qualities and pod safe separation from the host aircraft; provide equipment needed for system integration laboratories; and mature manufacturing processes," the announcement states.
The work, almost half of which will take place at the company's facilities in El Segundo, California, is expected to be complete in 2020.
