Raytheon’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band Ready for Production

An EA-18G Growler from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, conducts a Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) flight test over Southern Maryland recently. VX-23 supports the overall NGJ-MB Test and Evaluation program that has seen more than 145 hours of flight test. NGJ-MB received Milestone C approval June 28 and support to award low-rate initial production contract. U.S. NAVY / Steve Wolff

El Segundo, Calif. — Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, has completed Milestone C for the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band, or NGJ-MB, the company said in a June 29 release. 

“We’re well into development testing. It’s time to move towards production,” said Annabel Flores, vice president of Electronic Warfare Systems at Raytheon Intelligence & Space. “We’re ready to give the Navy and our Australian partners a leap forward towards the electromagnetic spectrum superiority they need.” 

The recommendation from the Milestone Decision Authority is based on the program’s achievements to date and an assessment of readiness to enter low-rate initial production, or LRIP.   

“The Milestone C decision drives home the stability and maturity of NGJ-MB,” said Flores. “The system is ready for validation and LRIP, and we’re gearing up for the delivery of this critical capability to the fleet.” 

To date, NGJ-MB has successfully completed over 145 hours of developmental flight-testing using mission systems and aeromechanical pods. NGJ-MB has also completed over 3,100 hours of anechoic chamber and lab testing at Naval Air Stations Patuxent River, Maryland, and Point Mugu, California. Chamber tests evaluated the system’s performance both on and off the EA-18G Growler aircraft, in addition to jamming techniques and reliability testing.  

NGJ-MB is the Navy’s advanced electronic attack system that offensively denies, disrupts and degrades enemy technology, including air-defense systems and communications. NGJ-MB uses the latest digital, software-based and Active Electronically Scanned Array technologies. This allows operators to non-kinetically attack significantly more targets and at greater distances. 

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