(Lockheed Martin)

A new US Navy Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) capability designed to be employed from Sikorsky MH-60R/S helicopters will soon undergo its critical design review (CDR) prior to development testing.

Lockheed Martin’s AN/ALQ-248 system AOEW Active Mission Payload (AMP) is a podded sensor designed to extend a surface vessel’s electromagnetic line-of-sight by positioning the sensor at altitude above a fleet. It works independently or with the ship’s onboard SEWIP Block 2 ESM suite to detect incoming missiles and determine their likely targets.

“You’re defending not just yourself, but the battle group,” Lockheed Martin director of electronic warfare systems Joseph Ottaviano told C4ISRNET at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space conference in Washington DC on April 9.

ADBR has asked the Australian Defence Force whether AEOW is being considered as a possible capability for the Royal Australian Navy for employment from the MH-60R Romeo or the future SEA129 Phase 5 Stage 2 unmanned aerial system, but had not received a response by time of publication.