BAE Systems has received a $58 million contract from Boeing to start Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS) for the U.S. Air Force. The electronic warfare (EW) and countermeasures system provides advanced electromagnetic capabilities that protect pilots and help them maintain air superiority during their toughest missions.

The all-digital EPAWSS enables pilots to monitor, jam and deceive threats in contested airspace. The system combines multispectral sensors and countermeasures, signal processing, microelectronics and intelligent algorithms to deliver fully integrated radar warning, situational awareness, geolocation and self-protection capabilities.

“I’m proud of the overall team for their incredible effort on this program,” said F-15 EPAWSS program manager Lt. Col. Dan Carroll. “The LRIP milestone is the culmination of years of hard work by a lot of great people within the government and our Boeing and BAE Systems industry partners. EPAWSS will significantly improve the survivability and utility of the F-15, and will be a great complement to what is already a very capable and lethal aircraft.”

During the program’s engineering and manufacturing development phase, BAE Systems is delivering incremental updates to the EPAWSS flight software with new geolocation and threat identification capabilities. As a result, system performance continues to improve in ground/flight test and in dense signal environments in hardware-in-the-loop tests at the U.S. Air Force’s Integrated Demonstrations and Applications Laboratory.

The successful completion of a series of rigorous flight tests, ground tests and intensive technology demonstrations led the Air Force to proceed with LRIP.

BAE Systems has also demonstrated EPAWSS’ hardware maturity and manufacturing readiness. In anticipation of EPAWSS LRIP and other critical EW production needs, the company has invested more than $100 million in world-class EW laboratories and factories, and has grown its workforce of innovative, mission-focused experts.

Work on the EPAWSS program takes place at BAE Systems facilities in Nashua, New Hampshire; Austin, Texas; and Totowa, New Jersey.

“The start of EPAWSS production marks a critical milestone and is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our industry team,” said Jerry Wohletz, vice president and general manager of Electronic Combat Solutions at BAE Systems. “Our technology is cutting-edge, our factories are world-class and our people are innovative and mission-focused.”