The Navy’s Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems declared earlier this fall that the Block 3 iteration of the Navy’s Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, or SEWIP, is “on track” following a successful preliminary design review of the proposed architecture, developed by Northrop Grumman’s Electronic Systems business unit.
In an announcement, PEO IWS Rear Admiral Jon Hill said that the Block 3 work is providing technology improvements needed for the latest version of the SLQ-32 family of EW systems, through enhancements to threat identification, prioritization, defensive-systems optimal assignment, and active engagement.
Hill says the Block 3 review is a major program milestone, the latest step in a long-term transformation for the SLQ-32(v), the Navy’s vintage shipboard EW system.
Northrop Grumman won the hotly competed contract for preliminary design of Block 3 in February 2015, surprising Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, which had teamed for the contest.
The award, and subsequent contracts to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS) and Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training unit, come at a time of heightened concern about Navy vulnerabilities to missile attack. In March the Pentagon stood up an Electronic Warfare Programs Council to increase focus on electronic defenses. The following month the Office of Naval Intelligence revealed that China has introduced a new YJ-18 high-speed antiship cruise missile that ONI said would “significantly increase China’s anti-access/area-denial capabilities against U.S. Navy surface ships.”
The SEWIP initiative started more than a decade ago, after an initial attempt to replace the SLQ-32 with an entirely new advanced integrated electronic-warfare system, or AIEWS, was deemed an expensive failure and terminated. The Navy changed course and decided to pursue an incremental technology-upgrade program for the ’32(v).
Beginning in the 1970s, Raytheon, prime contractor for the SLQ-32, built two variants, (v)1 and (v)2, which were passive systems that “listened” for the electronic signatures of approaching threats, and cued launch of countermeasures such as chaff. Raytheon built three more variants, (v)3 through (v)5, which added an active EW capability. By the time the Navy resolved to replace it in the late 1990s, the SLQ-32 was in service on board surface combatants, aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, and Coast Guard cutters. Twelve international navies have bought the system.
In 2003 GDAIS won contracts for SEWIP Block 1. The Block 1 work, in segments designated Block 1A, 1B1, and 1B2, provided new technology for electronic-surveillance enhancements, an improved control and display, and signal-intercept receivers, which added capability for antiship-missile defense, countersurveillance, and situational awareness.
Block 1B3 added new display upgrades. In 2008 GDAIS awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to develop a high-gain/high-sense subsystem to improve response to approaching high-speed missiles.
In 2009 Lockheed Martin teamed with ITT to win the Navy’s contract for development of Block 2 SEWIP. Block 2 provides an upgraded antenna and new receivers that introduce digital technology, as well as a single common interface with the ship’s combat system for the SLQ-32 that replaced multiple unique interfaces, further enhancing threat-detection capability.
Block 2 started low-rate initial production of 14 shipsets in January 2013. The following year the system was installed on the Arleigh Burke–class destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) for at-sea testing, scheduled to run through September 2017, and conducted feasibility tests that demonstrated the system for the littoral combat ship.
Lockheed Martin says the Block 2 upgrades will provide maximum component commonality and a scalable architecture easily adaptable for multiple ship types, substantially improved reliability, and lower life-cycle costs.
The Navy awarded GDAIS a contract in August 2014 for 15 Block 1B3 low-rate production units. Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin received a contract for its work on Block 1B3. However, in late October the Government Accountability Office upheld a protest by GDAIS of that award and recommended that the Navy review its analysis of the proposed costs. Lockheed Martin received another contract this past July for continuing work on Block 2.
Northrop Grumman’s Block 3 design, the company says, includes active and passive arrays that carry out EW and communications functions and provide continuous 360-degree coverage. The system, integrated with the ship combat system, is expected to provide “unprecedented” situational awareness to detect, track, and engage threats in high-clutter environments.
The Navy says that a Block 4 SEWIP also is planned, aimed at providing advanced electro-optic and infrared capabilities for the ’32(v).
Mr. Walsh is a veteran reporter of Navy and Marine Corps news and former editor of Naval Systems Update.