Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS) has accumulated more than 500 flight hours across more than 300 sorties during testing on the F-16.
The electronic warfare system is designed to detect, identify, and counter radio-frequency (RF) threats from land, surface, and airborne sources. Its testing has included scenarios involving multiple simultaneous threats.
IVEWS is being developed as an electronic warfare upgrade for the F-16 and is designed to work with the aircraft’s AN/APG-83 SABR active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The system uses pulse-to-pulse interoperability with the radar to allow electronic warfare and radar functions to operate together.
The integration is intended to maintain radar and electronic warfare functionality while the aircraft operates in environments with multiple RF threats.
Northrop Grumman is also developing IVEWS around an open architecture to allow future electronic warfare capabilities to be integrated as threat requirements change. The approach is intended to reduce the time and aircraft modifications required when introducing new capabilities.
The US Air Force has selected IVEWS as its F-16 electronic warfare program of record. The system is intended to provide the fleet with an updated EW capability as operators continue to upgrade and extend the service lives of existing F-16 aircraft.
Static and predictable RF threats are increasingly being supplemented by systems that can operate across wider portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and change their operating modes rapidly. Electronic warfare systems therefore require the ability to identify and respond to changing RF environments while an aircraft is operating.
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“You cannot defeat what you cannot see,” said Shalini Gupta, vice president of electronic warfare and targeting at Northrop Grumman. “A modern EW suite is essential for operations in contested airspace. We are producing fully functional, flight-proven systems now. From day one, our customers gain the ability to geolocate threats with a single aircraft, and the confidence that comes with having a U.S. program of record system on board.”
The accumulated flight hours and sorties form part of the ongoing development and validation of IVEWS, including its ability to detect and respond to RF threats and operate alongside the F-16’s existing mission systems.
