BAE Systems to provide F-35 EW critical sustainment support
BAE Systems has received a $93 million, five-year Undefinitised Contract Action from Lockheed Martin to provide critical sustainment support for the AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare (EW) countermeasure system.
Image courtesy BAE Systems
The contract will ensure the mission readiness of the growing global fleet of F-35 aircraft.
“We have a strong track record of sustaining electronic warfare systems to support our customers’ mission readiness,” said Rob Dykema, F-35 Sustainment programme director at BAE Systems. “This contract lays critical sustainment groundwork, establishing and optimizing the infrastructure to support the aircraft.”
Under the contract, BAE Systems will provide software maintenance, depot test equipment support, logistics analysis, obsolescence monitoring, technical field support, and reachback support for the F-35 US Reprogramming Laboratory.
The contract complements the BAE Systems F-35 performance-based logistics (PBL) programme, through which BAE Systems ensures EW material availability. Under the EW PBL, BAE Systems has demonstrated a 60% improvement in supply support, delivering better than 85% EW material availability to the F-35 enterprise with reduced cost per flight hour using a cost-effective, outcome-based support strategy.
The AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare suite provides real-time situational awareness and superior electronic warfare attack and countermeasure capabilities. The system is capable, reliable, affordable and sustainable and enables the US and its allies to maintain electromagnetic spectrum superiority.