Northrop Grumman has delivered the first AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 engineering and development model (EDM) to the US Navy for land-based testing.
The official transfer was marked at an event with company and Navy program officials at Northrop Grumman’s systems integration facility in Baltimore, Maryland.
SEWIP Block 3 is an upgrade to the legacy AN/SLQ-32 system, and provides non-kinetic electronic attack options to the US fleet. The advantage of this electronic attack system is that it provides an unlimited, non-kinetic, soft-kill magazine to defeat inbound threats.
The AN/SLQ-32(V)7 SEWIP Block 3 system protects surface ships from anti-ship missiles, providing early detection, signal analysis and threat warning.
“The AN/SLQ-32(V)7 EDM delivery to the US Navy for continued government land-based testing following formal qualification testing is a significant achievement for the SEWIP Block 3 program,” said Captain Jason Hall, the Navy’s Major Program Manager of Above Water Sensors and Lasers. “SEWIP Block 3 provides a critical electronic warfare capability to the Fleet to pace the evolving anti-ship missile threat.”
To keep pace with the rapid advances in technology, SEWIP Block 3 has an open, software defined architecture which can enable communication enhancements and information operations, as well as support future upgrades such as cognitive EW and AI/machine learning.
Northrop Grumman has already completed SEWIP Block 3 system integration and formal qualification testing as part of the engineering, manufacturing and development contract. This milestone indicates that the system is ready to transition to the US Navy for formal land-based testing at the Naval Sea Systems Command Surface Combat Systems Center in Wallops Island, Virginia.
“This delivery represents the next step in a multi-year effort to take SEWIP from the laboratory to the hands of the warfighter,” said Mike Meaney, vice president, land and maritime sensors, Northrop Grumman.
