An E/A-18G Growler (left), assigned to the “Gray Wolves” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 142, and an F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the “Tomcatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31, prepare to launch from the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System on the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) flight deck, March 10, 2023. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Grace Lyles)

WASHINGTON — The US Navy this week said it had awarded a $587 million contract to L3Harris for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of its Next Generation Jammer – Low Band (NGJ-LB)  system, a move that comes four years after the service initially attempted to advance that program in 2020.

“NGJ-LB will meet current and emerging electronic warfare threats and increase the lethality of 4th and 5th generation platforms and strike weapons,” Rear Adm. John Lemmon, program executive officer for tactical aircraft programs, said in a Sept. 10 statement. “The Navy will partner with L3Harris to get this key capability into the hands of the warfighter.”

The new pod is one element of the larger NGJ system scheduled to be installed on the Navy’s EA-18G Growler aircraft and is expected to reach early operational capability in 2029. The new contract is for the engineering and manufacturing development phase, which is essentially when DoD asks industry to produce a handful of initial prototypes prior to full-scale production. It is intended to allow industry to be certain its manufacturing processes are satisfactory and gives the Navy a chance to test out a product before entering into serial production.

“Our Next Generation Jammer – Low Band solution provides the U.S. Navy with the latest digital, software-based technologies to address advanced and emerging threats from peer adversaries,” Christopher Kubasik, chair and CEO of L3Harris, said in a statement today.

L3 said it will deliver eight prototypes to Naval Air Systems Command for assessment and additional testing over the next five years.

The service initially awarded a contract for NGJ-LB in 2020 but faced Government Accountability Office protests from Northrop Grumman. That protest was eventually settled in 2022 with the Navy agreeing to amend its request for proposals and re-compete the contract in 2023. NGJ-LB is a joint cooperative program between the DoD and the Australian Department of Defence; the Royal Australian Air Force will eventually receive the capability, according to the US Navy statement.

Raytheon is responsible for the mid-band capability associated with the NGJ program, and Flight Global reported the first production pods of that capability were delivered to the Navy in 2023.