The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $52.8 million contract to upgrade the service’s ALQ-131 electronic-attack pods, according to the company’s April 26 release. The contract covers 27 months of engineering and manufacturing development; it has a potential value of $480 million when factoring the low-rate initial production phase and five production options, said company officials. “The Northrop Grumman team designed an innovative solution that provides our US Air Force pilots with the electronic-warfare protection they need while flying combat operations,” said Tom Vice, president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services. Digital receiver and exciter technology included in the upgrade “makes a fourth generation aircraft survivable in a fifth generation world,” said Jeff Palombo, general manager of Northrop Grumman’s Land and Self Protection Systems Division. A-10s, C-130s, F-15s, and F-16s can carry the ALQ-131. (See also One Pod Fits All.)
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.
