ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Jan. 24, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to using Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) AN/ALQ-162 electronic countermeasures system to protect its fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft.
The RDAF has signed a foreign military sales contract with the U.S. Navy for 20 Pulse Doppler/Power Plus retrofit kits as an initial upgrade to the 82 AN/ALQ-162 V(1) configurations currently installed on its F-16s.
"For many years, since the days of the original program, the Danish Air Force has relied on Northrop Grumman's AN/ALQ-162 countermeasures system as the sole electronic warfare suite to protect its fighters," said Ev Pratt, vice president of Electronic Warfare programs at Northrop Grumman's Defensive Systems Division in Rolling Meadows, Ill. "Like a growing number of international users, the RDAF recognizes and values the outstanding performance and cost benefits the AN/ALQ-162 provides."
The target completion date for deliveries under the $7 million contract is year-end 2003.
The AN/ALQ-162 is a compact, lightweight, high-band radio frequency countermeasures system. Nearly 700 systems have been delivered to all three branches of the U.S. military as well as the air forces of several allied nations.
The system hardware and software improvements contained in the AN/ALQ-162 V(6) upgrade are designed to provide improved capabilities to counter advanced airborne and ground-based missile systems. With these enhancements, the AN/ALQ-162(V)6 provides pilots with self-protection against a wide variety of sophisticated continuous wave and pulse Doppler terminal radar threats.
This latest follow-on contract is the first of what is expected to be a multiple procurement by the RDAF. "The RDAF plans to expand its use of the AN/ALQ-162 to other platforms such as C-130 transports and EH-101 helicopters," Pratt explained. In this regard, Northrop Grumman is working with Lockheed Martin to integrate the system into the ECIPS pylon, a wing weapon pylon configuration manufactured by the Danish company TERMA.
Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defense electronics systems including airborne radar systems, navigation systems, electronic warfare systems, precision weapons, airspace management systems, air defense systems, communications systems, space systems, marine systems, oceanic and naval systems, logistics systems, and automation and information systems.
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