Raytheon OKs Next Phase of Next-Generation Jammer Mid-Band Program

EDGEWOOD, N.Y. — Raytheon Co. has authorized CPI Aerostructures Inc. to begin production of pod structures and air-management system (AMS) components for the system demonstration and test article (SDTA) phase of the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) program, CPI Aero said in a release.

The binding notification provides about $2 million in funding to begin work and establishes a maximum value of $23.3 million for a contract that is expected to be finalized before the end of 2019. Deliveries of SDTA pods and AMS components are expected to begin in August of 2020 and end in the first half of 2021.

Raytheon is designing and manufacturing NGJ-MB, a high-capacity and power airborne electronic attack weapon system for the EA-18G Growler aircraft. It is designed to protect air forces by denying, degrading and disrupting threat radars and communication devices. There are two NGJ-MB pods per EA-18G aircraft. CPI Aero announced in August 2018 that it is manufacturing the pod structure and AMS components for Raytheon, which delivered the first NGJ-MB engineering development model pod to the U.S. Navy for ground and aircraft integration testing in July.

“CPI Aero has been a key supplier to Raytheon on this program since 2016, and we are proud to play an important role in getting this critical electronic warfare capability into the hands of the U.S. Navy for testing,” stated Douglas J. McCrosson, president and CEO of CPI Aero. “As we begin the SDTA phase, we reach another waypoint on the path towards receiving a decision by the U.S. Navy to proceed with low-rate initial production in late 2020 to keep the program on track to achieve initial operating capability in 2022.”