AFA 2025: Northrop Grumman continues to develop IVEWS

IVEWS uses an ultra-wideband architecture to counter advanced radio frequency threats. (Northrop Grumman)

The US Air Force (USAF) is preparing to upgrade its F-16 fighters with Northrop Grumman's AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS), significantly enhancing their capabilities for future conflicts.

The programme is “on cost, on schedule, [and] exceeding performance in the EW [electronic warfare] environment”, Jim Conroy, vice-president of electronic warfare and targeting for Northrop Grumman, told Janes on 22 September at the Air & Space Forces Association's (AFA's) Air, Space & Cyber Conference 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland.

Integrated EW

IVEWS is fully internal and “doesn't change the outer mould line of the F-16”, he said, adding “that's important when you're thinking about safety of flight, when you're thinking about all the testing that's needed, staying within the envelope of the F-16 is critical”.

As a fully integrated EW suite, IVEWS can perform automatic detection and identification, tracking, and self-protection without external pods or towed decoys, Conroy said, noting that it also does geolocation in the background so as not to interfere with the other functions.

It replaces several legacy systems and pods, and provides 360° coverage for detection, identification, and jamming, he said.

IVEWS is “fully digital interoperable with the SABR [AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar] … it can do everything it needs to do while the EW is simultaneously doing everything it needs to do”, Conroy explained.