Article Posted on : - Jan 16, 2014

Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) graphic. Photo: Lockheed Martin

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK (BNS): U S defence major Lockheed Martin has recently completed a milestone test on the U S Navy's evolutionary Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 system.

This test further validated the system's ability to protect the Navy's fleet from evolving anti-ship missile threats.

Under SEWIP Block 2, Lockheed Martin will upgrade the AN/SLQ-32(V)2 system found on all U S aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other warships with key capabilities to determine if adversaries are using electronic sensors to track the ship.

Block 2 obtained a Milestone C decision in January 2013, after which the system began 11 months of land-based testing in preparation for installation on a Navy warship.

The test, which successfully completed earlier this month, demonstrated the maturity of the open architecture electronic warfare system by performing full system operation in multiple scenarios.

Block 2 is the latest in an evolutionary succession of improvement 'blocks' the Navy is pursuing for its shipboard electronic warfare system, which will incrementally add new technologies and functional capabilities.

The Navy competitively awarded Lockheed Martin a contract in 2009 to develop SEWIP Block 2 to upgrade the passive detection capabilities of the current SLQ-32 systems. The company recently completed shore-based testing in preparation for ship installation.