The U.S. Navy has awarded a $57.7M contract for the full-scale production of Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) systems to Northrop Grumman.
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) made the high profile appointment, while the contract itself has a potential worth of $505M. Northrop Grumman will now manufacture the systems at its San Diego production facility, with the contract due for completion by August 2022.
For the uninitiated, JCREW systems are software-programmable jammers which provide a measure of protection against device-triggered improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unmanned airborne systems. Here, Northrop Grumman is something of a specialist, having developed dismounted, mounted and fixed-site variants to protect warfighters on foot, in vehicles or at permanent structures.
The appeal of the JCREW “One Build One System” is its open architecture integrated design which maximizes commonality across each of the variants, curbing life-cycle costs and improving protection against a wider variety of threats.
“JCREW is a crucial capability that’s urgently needed in the field to protect our warfighters. The system developed by Northrop Grumman is exceedingly effective at defeating the innumerable immediate IED threats and designed for rapid updating to defeat new threats,” said Jeannie Hilger, Vice President for Communications Business at Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. “The open architecture design allows us to get this critical capability to the warfighter most quickly and to ensure, once deployed, it remains the most potent protection.”
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