PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- The U.S. Navy’s Next-Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) program simultaneously completed test events on schedule at two Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, facilities, despite limited staffing and significant COVID-19 restrictions. Airborne Electronic Attack Systems Program Office (PMA-234) NGJ-LB team was ready to begin its final Demonstration of Existing Technologies (DET) testing when COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. After a quick reassessment, the team held teleconference meetings with Naval Test Wing Atlantic Chief Flight Surgeon, government, and contractor participants to gain consensus on quarantine and test execution requirements. After making adjustments required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NAVAIR, they were able to complete testing with two contractors’ prototype pods at both Air Combat Environmental Test and Evaluation Facility (ACETEF) and the Facility for Antenna and RCS Measurement (FARM) in less than two months. Other constraints included a 50 percent reduction in staff at the FARM and ACETEF control rooms. Despite the restrictions, the many teams involved were able to stay on task. The NGJ-LB test team was comprised of PMA-234 Program Office; L3Harris; Northrop Grumman Corporation; FARM; ACETEF; Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division; PMA-234’s Jammer Technique Optimization (JATO); and Southern Maryland Crane Rental, Inc. personnel. The 22-month DET contract, awarded to L3Harris and Northrop Grumman Corporation, has been a collaborative effort with the industry partners to assess technical maturity and will conclude later this summer. The U.S. Navy is currently in source selection to choose a Prime contractor to develop the NGJ-LB Capability Block 1 tactical jamming operational prototypes with a contract award anticipated this fall. NGJ-LB is part of a larger NGJ weapon system that will augment, and ultimately replace the legacy ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System currently used for Airborne Electronic Attack on the EA-18G Growler aircraft.
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