BETHPAGE, N.Y., and BALTIMORE — Northrop Grumman Corp. has expanded its Next-Generation Jammer Low-Band (NGJ-LB) Capability Block 1 (CB-1) solution team with the addition of proven structure supplier CPI Aero Inc. based in Edgewood, New York, Northrop Grumman said in a release.
The NGJ-LB will fly on the EA-18G Growler, providing advanced airborne electronic attack capabilities.
Following the proposal submittal for NGJ-LB in January, Northrop Grumman is moving forward with CB-1 execution by selecting CPI Aero to provide the NGJ-LB pod structure and assembly, advancing on the U.S. Navy’s speed to fleet path.
“The addition of CPI Aero to our NGJ-LB team will help provide rapid fleet capability to the Navy,” said Paul Kalafos, vice president of surveillance and electromagnetic maneuver warfare for Northrop Grumman.
“They have extensive experience in providing aircraft and pod structural components for several Department of Defense customers and we are proud to have them on our team of [electronic warfare] engineering and mission experts, helping the Navy maintain its warfighting edge through advanced airborne electronic attack (AEA) capabilities.”
“Our leading structures and assembly experience is used by the Navy’s EA-18G, E-2D, MH-60S and CH-53K systems, and we have a well-established record providing these components on-time, efficiently and with consistent high quality,” said Doug McCrosson, president and CEO of CPI Aero.
CPI Aero is also the current supplier of record for pod structure and assembly for the Navy’s ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band program.
Northrop Grumman is the AEA integrator for the Navy’s current EA-18G Growler electronic warfare system. The NGJ-LB will fly on the EA-18G Growler, providing advanced AEA capabilities. Northrop Grumman has been working closely with the Navy to build and demonstrate survivable and capable carrier-based solutions for over 50 years. Starting with the AN/ALQ-86, to the current AN/ALQ-99, AN/ALQ-218 and AN/ALQ-240 for EA-18G and P-8, Northrop Grumman is helping define the future of naval electronic warfare through artificial intelligence, cognitive solutions, software defined and hardware enabled multi-function technologies and open architecture systems.
