Northrop Grumman to provide Army aircraft radar warning receivers in $457.1 million contract

by John Keller

The Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Systems segment in Rolling Meadows, Ill., will provide the U.S. Army with the APR-39A/B/C radar signal detection set (RSDS) under terms of a $457.1 million contract announced Monday from the U.S. Army Contracting Command, CECOM, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The contract was awarded Thursday.

The APR-39A/B/C radar warning receiver identifies different types of radar threats -- particularly radar-guided missiles -- on a display, ranks the threats on the display, identifies the threat posing the most immediate danger, and provides audible information to the pilot. The system is for fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft.

The system provides 360-degree coverage to detect and identify threat types, bearing, and lethality automatically, then alerts the crew to each threat with a graphical symbol on the cockpit multifunction display or video display. The system also gives the aircrew synthetic speech audio threat warnings. This threat information enhances aircrew situational awareness, and can give the pilot enough time to evade the threat or deploy countermeasures.

The contract includes including upgrade kits, as well as repair, integration, interim software support, and field support. Northrop Grumman will do the work in Rolling Meadows, Ill., and should be finished by the end of 2014.