IFC 2025: L3Harris prepares for Viper Shield full-rate production

Seen in US markings for its delivery flight to Bulgaria, this F-16 Block 70 is one that will be fitted with the Viper Shield EW suite. (Bulgarian MoD)

L3Harris is preparing to transition its new AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield electronic warfare (EW) system to full-rate production in 2026, Janes was told on 4 November.

Speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2025 in Rome, director of International Electronic Warfare Programs at L3Harris' Airborne Combat Systems division David Nyikos said the integrated and/or podded solution for the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft will shortly begin serial production at the company's Clifton facility in New Jersey.

“We have been about seven years in development [with Viper Shield], and with that almost done and low-rate production now under way we are going to full-rate production in the next six to 12 months,” Nyikos said. “We are sub-contracted to Lockheed Martin, so full-rate production is how they define it to be,” he added.

Lockheed Martin sole-sourced L3Harris in March 2023 to put its Viper Shield EW system on the F-16 Block 70/72 (designated F-16V in its remanufactured form) Fighting Falcon combat aircraft. “It's about keeping the F-16 relevant in the current fight,” Nyikos said. It can be internally fitted in the airframe, or for greater power and/or flexibility (but at the expense of a hardpoint) it can be carried in an externally mounted pod.

As previously described to Janes, the advanced digital radar warning receiver technology will fold into the F-16V Block 70/72's active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to give pilots situational awareness. The digital radio frequency (RF) memory-based jamming system will fight advanced threats. “Viper Shield gives the F-16 pilot the first time to detect, and the first time to shoot,” Nyikos said.