Canada’s Hornet Upgrades: ALR-67 RWRs
Related Stories: Americas - Other, Americas - USA, Boeing, Contracts - Intent, ECM, Fighters & Attack, Protective Systems - Aircraft, Raytheon
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DID has covered Australia’s ALR 2002 attempt to develop its own radar warning receiver & protection suite for its aircraft, including the RAAF’s F/A-18 Hornets. That failed, forcing Australia to turn to the global standard for Hornets and Super Hornets: Raytheon’s AN/ALR-67(v)3. Canada also has a CF-18 Hornet upgrade program underway, as the current CF-18 fleet is expected to serve until at least 2017. As attacks from Pakistan rise, the government is also looking hard at sending its Hornets into harm’s way in Afghanistan.
Raytheon’s AN/ALR-67v3 is a radar warning receiver that provides visual and audio alerts to F/A-18 aircrew when it detects ground-based, ship-based, or airborne radar emitters. It’s designed to provide accurate identification, azimuth displays, and threat levels for hostile and friendly emitters. It has become the modern standard for F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft, and has been incorporated into a number of earlier model Hornets flown around the world.
Canada has now added itself to that list…
In August 2007, Canada formally requested 59 AN/ALR-67v3 Radar Warning Receivers, 24 AN/ALR-67v3 partial ship-sets, test program sets, adapters, test sets and support equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel training and training equipment, technical assistance, and other related elements of logistics support for its own Hornet fleet. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $209 million.
The Aug 3/07 DSCA announcement [PDF format] names Raytheon Corporation in Waltham, MA (ALR-67) and Boeing Company in St. Louis, MO (F/A-18) as the contractors, and adds that implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of 2 contractor representatives to Canada for 1-week intervals twice annually, in order to participate in technical reviews.
Unusually, there are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
Contracts and Developments
Because these are foreign military sales, The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages the contracts. Note that these may not be all of the contracts associated with the purchase; they are simply all of the contracts that have been publicly announced.
Aug 22/08: Raytheon Co. in Goleta, CA received a $13.7 million firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-05-G-0008) for 174 AN/ALR-67v3 Enhanced Integrated Antenna Detector Radar Warning Receivers and 173 AN/ALR-67v3 Enhanced Antenna Detector Radar Warning Receiver Systems in support of the Canadian Forces for the F/A-18 A/B aircraft; and 6 Integrated Microwave Integrated Circuits in support of the Swiss Army Armasuisse for its F/A-18 C/D aircraft.
This contract combines purchases for the Government of Canada ($13.6 million; 99%) and the Government of Switzerland, ($114,526; 1%) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Lansdale, PA (75%) and El Segundo, CA (25%), and is expected to be complete in March 2011.
March 27/08: Raytheon Co. Electronics Systems in Goleta, CA received an $11.7 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0123), exercising an option for the full-rate-production of 14 Lot 10 AN/ALR-67v3 Radar Warning Receivers to support F/A-18 legacy aircraft programs for the Canadian Air Force (13, $10.8 million; 92%) and the Swiss Air Force (1, $834,426; 7%) under the Foreign Military Sales Program.
Work will be performed in Forest, MS (46%); Goleta, CA (14%); Lansdale, PA (10%); Brisbane, Australia (9%); Chatsworth, CA (7%); El Segundo, CA (7%); McKinney, TX (4%); and Portland, OR (3%), and is expected to be complete in June 2011.
Dec 6/07: Raytheon Co., Electronics Systems in Goleta, CA received a $51.9 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0123), exercising an option for the full-rate-production of 53 Lot 10 AN/ALR-67v3 Radar Warning Receivers for the U.S. Navy (24, $25.7 million; 49.55%); Canadian Air Force (25, $22.7 million; 43.85%); and the Finnish Air Force (4, $3.4 million; 6.6%), including spare weapon replaceable assemblies for the U.S. Navy.
Work will be performed in Forest, MS (46%); Goleta, CA (14%); Lansdale, PA (10%); Brisbane, Australia (9%); Chatsworth, CA (7%); El Segundo, CA (7%); McKinney, TX (4%); and Portland, OR (3%), and is expected to be complete in March 2011.
