The U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin announced an agreement worth about $43 million to upgrade to the AN/ALQ-217 Electronic Support Measures (ESM) system for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.

This modification increases the scope of the existing E-2D AN/ALQ-217D electronic support measures and provides upgrades to the receiver/processor, active front end and receiver antenna weapons replaceable assemblies (WRAs).

These upgrades will give the warfighter additional performance in dense littoral and open-ocean environments. The system’s enhanced situational awareness and full autonomy will also reduce operator workload, enable faster reaction time and improve survivability.

“We are pleased to provide an upgraded AN/ALQ-217 ESM system for our U.S. Navy customer,” said Hamid Salim, vice president, Advanced Product Solutions, Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems. “The additional modifications are critical upgrades for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to improve overall performance in a contested battlespace and provide the capability required by today’s warfighter.”

The Lockheed Martin team will deliver several AN/ALQ-217D ESM upgrade kits to support development and test through 2023. This is a 12-month period of performance adjustment from the initial contract award.

The base AN/ALQ-217D contract upgrades include improved Combat Identification (CID) networked-EW for multi-ship geo-location with other Carrier Air Wing (CVW) aircraft and detection of advanced threat radar systems. In addition, the upgrades further improve the platform’s antennas and active front ends (AFEs).

Lockheed Martin has been the AN/ALQ-217 ESM supplier on the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program since 1999. Most of the work will be performed in Owego, New York, and is expected to be completed by September 2023.

For over half a century, Lockheed Martin has provided more than 7,800 electronic warfare (EW) systems to the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. These are vital to protect the warfighter and give them an advantage for increased mission success.