As part of the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) program’s technology maturation phase, ITT Exelis [XLS] and Boeing [BA] said they have successfully completed wind tunnel testing of the team’s proposed full-scale pod at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.
The testing, observed by Navy representatives, demonstrated the power generation and control capability of the pod’s Ram Air Turbine, used to generate electrical power for jamming, the companies said in a Dec. 19 statement.
If selected by the Navy, the pod would be deployed aboard the U.S. Navy’s electronic attack EA-18G aircraft.
“Successful wind tunnel testing of an integrated power generation system is a significant risk reduction achievement for the ITT-Boeing NGJ program,” said Bob Ferrante, vice president and general manager of Exelis Electronic Systems’ airborne electronic attack business. “The wind tunnel test operations validated our engineering team’s projections, so now we’re preparing for the next step of in-flight testing.”
The Next Generation Jammer program, a complete upgrade to existing technology, will ensure that U.S. forces have dominance of the electronic spectrum, providing a comprehensive capability.
Jim Skerston, Boeing NGJ chief engineer, said: “Increased power generation is critical to NGJ success. The embedded Ram Air Turbine must generate adequate power to operate the system, the transmitter and other mission electronics.”
Additionally, Rick Martin, Boeing’s Advanced Military Aircraft chief engineer said, “The successful demonstration of the power generation system was the culmination of collaborative design work that leveraged ITT’s high power electronics expertise with Boeing’s system integration capabilities. This work takes us one step closer to fielding the next major capability step in the EA-18G electronic attack arsenal.