BAE Systems to Begin Work Under Navy Airborne Decoy Development Contract

The U.S. Navy has awarded a $54 million contract to BAE Systems to build an airborne radio frequency decoy system capable of protecting fighter jets from adversarial attacks.

The dual-band decoy, an RF self-protection jammer based on the AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy, will feature custom integrated circuits; reduced size, weight and power; and “a towed unit connected by fiber-optic cable to electronic warfare equipment onboard the aircraft,” BAE Systems said.

The company was awarded the contract in September but the work only began in recent months due to a protest from Raytheon.

According to a C4ISRNET report in March, the Court of Federal Claims denied Raytheon’s motion for judgment, enabling BAE Systems to begin developing the dual-band decoy.

Don Davidson, director of the advanced compact electronic warfare solutions product line at BAE Systems, said the product can be installed on various aircraft types and updated in the future in response to new threats.