Boeing Co. has received a $4 billion contract from the U.S. Defense Department to upgrade the electronic warfare suite on the F-15 fighter jet, the company announced.
The world's largest aerospace company announced it has tapped BAE Systems to develop the new threat detection system, known as the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS, for about 400 U.S. Air Force F-15Cs and F-15Es.
The all-digital technology is designed to better counter threats and protect air crews for decades to come, and will replace the existing Tactical Electronic Warfare System, or TEWS, which has been in use since the 1980s.
"Warfighters of today and tomorrow need the latest in jamming, targeting, infrared threat detection and enhanced decoy capabilities," Mike Gibbons, vice president, Global Strike Boeing F-15 programs, said in a press release. "EPAWSS will ensure the F-15 is relevant and dominant through 2040 and beyond."
The new system requires a smaller footprint than the old one, providing advanced electronic warfare capabilities and a significant growth path for the F-15 Eagle, according to a separate statement from BAE. It will improve aircraft protection with advanced electronic countermeasures, radar warning, and increased chaff and flare capability; it will also meet future F-15 requirements, including the capability to detect and defeat threats in contested and highly contested environments, the release states.
"This selection builds on our extensive electronic warfare legacy, a history we were able to leverage to develop an executable, affordable, and low-risk solution for the F-15 fleet," Brian Walters, vice president and general manager of Electronic Combat Solutions at BAE Systems, said in the release.
"By upgrading to an enhanced all-digital system, the Air Force, in conjunction with the platform prime, Boeing, will provide next-generation electronic warfare capability to F-15C and F-15E aircraft to help keep the platform capable and mission-ready against current and future threats."
