Lockheed Martin has awarded L3Harris Technologies a contract for the delivery of a new advanced electronic warfare system to protect the international F-16 multirole fighter aircraft against emerging radar and electronic threats.
Dubbed Viper Shield by L3Harris, the EW system is designed to provide digital radar threat warning and digital countermeasure capabilities in a fully integrated, internally mounted system. The digital radio frequency memory (DRFM)-based jamming system provides enhance capability against advanced threats.
The baseline version is integrated into the aircraft fuselage, saving space for additional capability such as a fuel pod that could be attached externally to increase mission range, L3Harris says.
L3Harris says the Viper Shield was designed for Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft configurations, which are, or will be flown by countries in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
“The L3Harris Viper Shield EW system enables the F-16 to continue to be one of the most effective combat aircraft in the world,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “Our 30-year legacy on the F-16, coupled with the advanced technologies being developed for Viper Shield, provide our warfighters and international partners with unprecedented self-protection that helps to ensure mission success.”
Earlier this year, the US Air Force chose Northrop Grumman over L3Harris to deliver an electronic warfare suite for its F-16 fighter aircraft fleet.
USAF picked Northrop Grumman after both companies received contracts in November 2019 to demonstrate EW prototypes for the Fighting Falcons. L3Harris demonstrated an integrated digital radar warning receiver solution while NG supplied a digital radar warning receiver and an internally mounted EW suite.
