Advertisement

“Slick 32”
(click to view full)

The US Navy’s AN/SLQ-32 ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) system uses radar warning receivers, and in some cases active jamming, as the part of ships’ self-defense system. The “Slick 32s” provides warning of incoming attacks, and is integrated with the ships’ defenses to trigger Rapid Blooming Offboard Chaff (RBOC) and other decoys, which can fire either semi-automatically or on manual direction from a ship’s ECM operators.

The “Slick 32” variants are based on modular building blocks, and each variant is suited to a different type of ship. Most of these systems were designed in the 1970s, however, and are based on 1960s-era technology. In an era that features more and more supersonic ship-killing missiles with better radars and advanced electronics, that won’t do. Hence the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP)...

SEWIP Blocks

“Slick 32” screen on
USS Iowa, 1984
(click to view full)

Though SLQ-32 is a Raytheon system, SEWIP began in 2003 with General Dynamics as the lead integrator.

Block 1A adds improved displays and a modern interface, along with some hardware switchouts that add modern commercial-off-the-shelf hardware to drive the new display, and handle some signal processing (Electronic Surveillance Enhancements, or ESE).

SWEIP Block 1B1 made more changes to replace obsolete electronics, some of which are not even manufactured any more, and improved the system’s ability to locate the source of incoming radar signals.

SEWIP Block 1B2 provides some signal processing and display upgrades.

SEWIP Block 1B3 adds additional display upgrades, and a High Gain High Sensitivity (HGHS) subsystem, to help ships deal with modern missiles that announce their presence less and offer less warning time.

Those low-cost, low-risk inserts deal with some of the SLQ-32 system’s issues, but not all. Over the longer term, the system’s fundamental receiver/emitter electronics need to be updated to modern technologies, accompanied by software improvements that let ships take better advantage of the new hardware’s capabilities, and make it easier to share SEWIP information with their own ship’s combat system and with other ships.

Block 2 is described as an upgrade, but it’s more like a major home renovation. It replaces the old SLQ-32 receivers and antennas with modern technologies, whose digital capability and flexibility has come a long way, and adds additional signal processing muscle. It’s also being modified so that there’s a single, unified interface to the combat system, rather than the previous set of interfaces to individual components of the system. This makes future upgrades simpler, and may also have the effect of improving performance. Lockheed Martin’s ICEWS materials touted under 200ms end-to-end latency, as well as a good high-pulse throughput for cluttered environments and a low false alarm rate.

The Block 2 contract was awarded to a Lockheed Martin/ ITT partnership at the very end of FY 2009. June 2010 is the next key milestone.

Contracts and Key Events

Sept 30/09: Lockheed Martin Corp. in Liverpool, NY receives a $9.9 million cost plus incentive fee contract for the Preliminary Design of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2.

Lockheed Martin’s Nov 2/09 release says that their team will provide a modular solution based on the Integrated Common Electronics Warfare System that was demonstrated at sea in summer 2008, using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics. The company confirmed that it remains partnered with ITT, and their team will produce a preliminary design by June 2010. If development is successful, there will be no re-compete, and production options could total $166.9 million.

Work will be performed in Liverpool, N.Y. (76%); Lansdale, PA (13%), and Morgan Hill, CA (11%). This contract was competitively procured under full and open competition, and 3 offers were received (Lockheed/ITT, GD/BAE, and Northrop Grumman) by the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington Navy Yard, D.C. (N00024-09-C-5300).

March 31/09: General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc. in Fairfax, VA received a $40 million not-to-exceed contract for Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 1B research and development, and production requirements. This contract includes the continued design and development of SEWIP Block 1B3, with a specialized HGHS subsystem, to enhance the SLQ-32’s detection capabilities against emerging threats, and full rate production of SEWIP Block 1B2 units.

GD-AIS has been the SEWIP program’s lead integrator since 2003. Work will be performed in Fairfax, VA (60%) and Syracuse, NY (40%), and is expected to be complete by July 2011. This contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-09-C-5396).

Dec 3/08: Defense Daily offers a roundup of the SEWIP Block 2 program competition between GD/BAE, Lockheed/ITT, and Northrop Grumman, who’s thinking about adapting the system it’s developing for the Navy’s DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyers. Read: “Industry Readying For Navy’s Release of SEWIP Block 2 RFP.”

Dec 1/08: Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors wins a contract from General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc., to develop and produce SEWIP Block 1B3’s High Gain, High Sensitivity (HGHS) sub-system. The contract includes the topside antenna systems, the below decks signal processor, and the processing algorithms that accompany the processor. It is valued at up to $36 million including options, and was awarded after a competitive bidding process. GD-AIS.

Dec 1/08: Lockheed Martin and ITT announce that they’ve teamed up to compete for the SEWIP Block 2 contract. Lockheed Martin.

October 23/08: General Dynamics and BAE Systems announce that they’ve teamed up to compete for the SEWIP Block 2 contract. Their solution is called “Sea Lightning.” BAE Systems.

Additional Readings

• Lockheed Martin – Integrated Common Electronic Warfare System (ICEWS). Forms the basis for SEWIP Block 2.

• Raytheon – AN/SLQ-32 (V)

• Global Security – AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare (EW) system