Northrop Grumman awarded $65 million contract
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The F-15E fighter will continue receiving electronic countermeasures (ECM) protection through a $65 million contract awarded by the US Air Force for 28 AN/ALQ-135 Band 1.5 subsystems to Northrop Grumman Corporation's Defensive Systems Division.
According to a statement, 11 of the systems have been delivered to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, for installation. The remainder of the contract, which is the third of a five-lot production program, is to be completed by September 2003.
An internally mounted radar countermeasures system designed and developed for the F-15 fleet, the AN/ALQ-135 has been designated by the Air Force as 'mission essential' for all combat F-15Es.
Band 1.5 subsystems have been successfully installed in F-15Es at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
The AN/ALQ-135 is said to have thousands of hours of combat operations, beginning with Desert Storm and continuing through recent conflicts in the Balkans, Kosovo and Afghanistan without a single aircraft loss due to threats covered by the ECM system.
