Next Generation Jammer on EA-18G Growler

PARIS AIR SHOW: One of the most sensitive and important unclassified programs, Raytheon’s Next Generation Jammer, should see its first two pods delivered to the Navy by the end of this year for the first phase of testing.

That’s the word here from Roy Azevedo, the new head of Space and Airborne Systems. He took up the mantle eight months ago from the redoubtable Rick Yuse.

“We will be delivering the first two EMD (Engineering & Manufacturing Development) pods by the end of this year for early testing in the air and in the lab,” Azevedo told me.

In 2016 Raytheon won a $1 billion award to build the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ). The Navy plans to spend about $1.5 billion on NGJ development between 2019 and 2022.

Azevedo’s division is ramping up for a significant expansion in business over the next five years, planning to hire more than 5,000 people. “Over 2,000 last year, and over 2,000 in the next 18 months, and that’s likely to continue for the next four to five years,” he says in our interview.

To find out what he says about the fast-paced missile detection satellite system known as Next Gen OPIR — successor to the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) — watch the video. It’s supposed to be ready within five years. Congress may have something to say about this.