Boeing awarded $20.6m

has been awarded a three-year, $20.6m US Air Force contract to build antenna radio frequency processors and associated electronics for the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)-Electronic Systems Measures (ESM) program.

Boeing says it will complete the work at its Heath, Ohio, facility. The AWACS-ESM program relocated to Heath in 2006 from Corinth, Texas, after the construction of an 800-square-foot anechoic chamber and an indoor testing facility.

Boeing will deliver 53 radar antennas between September 2008 and January 2010. Earlier this year, Boeing was awarded a two-year, $3.6m contract for ESM repairs.

Boeing added ESM to the AWACS mission system in the mid-1990s for the E-3 aircraft. It is a passive system that enables the AWACS fleet to detect, identify and track electronic transmissions from ground, airborne and maritime sources. Using the ESM system, mission operators can determine radar and weapon system type.