A USAF ANG JTE system was deployed to Australia for Exercise Diamond Storm in 2017. (DEFENCE)

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a US$450m (A$575m) contract to provide additional Joint Threat Emitter (JTE) arrays to the USAF.

The contract covers the provision of JTE units, mobile and fixed command and control units as well as spares, support equipment, testing and training. The USAF and Air National Guard (ANG) units currently operates 28 JTE systems at US and overseas training ranges, and the system has also been ordered by Saudi Arabia

The mobile JTE provides an advanced reactive battlespace environment for the training of fast jet, fixed-wing and helicopter defensive measures. It can be rapidly reprogrammed with advanced threat parameters that are representative of modern threats.

The system is designed to simulate electronic emissions produced by surface to air missile (SAM) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) threats by stimulating an aircraft’s radar warning receiver (RWR) and electronic warfare systems. It is designed to provide realistic electronic warfare training for aircrews, and to assess performance of (RWR) and electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems.

“Our Joint Threat Emitter systems enable aircrews to train in environments that match actual combat situations. These training systems are critical in preparing members of the military to respond to threats,” Northrop Grumman’s vice president land and avionics C4ISR, Rob Fleming said in a statement.

USAF JTE systems have been deployed to Australia for Exercises Pitch Black in 2016 and Diamond Storm in 2017. The system has been proposed to Australia to fulfil the ADF’s much-delayed JP 3021 mobile threat emitter requirement, but elements within the ADF reportedly favour the adoption of advanced electronic scanned array (AESA)-based technologies.