The flight activity included exposure to multiple simultaneous radio-frequency threats from airborne, land and surface sources, according to the company. IVEWS is designed to detect, identify and counter those signals to improve pilot survivability in contested airspace.
The suite also operates pulse to pulse with the F-16’s AN/APG-83 SABR active electronically scanned array radar. Northrop Grumman said this interoperability avoids filtering and blackouts that might otherwise reduce electronic protection or radar targeting performance.
The system is intended to counter mobile threats that can transmit across a wide electromagnetic spectrum and rapidly change their operating status. This leaves electronic warfare systems less time to locate and respond to hostile emitters.
Northrop Grumman has built IVEWS around an open architecture so new capabilities can be integrated as the threat environment changes. The design complies with the Air Force’s Big Iron software standard, which is intended to accelerate electronic warfare upgrades while minimising aircraft downtime.
Shalini Gupta, vice president of electronic warfare and targeting at Northrop Grumman, said: “We are producing fully functional, flight-proven systems now. From day one, our customers gain the ability to geolocate threats with a single aircraft, and the confidence that comes with having a U.S. program of record system on board.”
