Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) of BAE Systems’ Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) has been completed by the U.S. Air Force for its F-15 aircraft.
Designed for the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II aircraft, EPAWSS provides critical electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and offers instantaneous full-spectrum EW capabilities—including radar warning, geolocation, situational awareness, and self-protection.
The F-15’s ability to conduct combat missions will be enhanced by EPAWSS’ ability to enable freedom of maneuver and deeper penetration into battle-spaces whilst being protected by modern integrated air defense systems.
BAE Systems say that it supported AFOTEC in executing EPAWSS IOT&E and it is now in the process of producing and fielding an industry leading EW system.
The company is working closely with Boeing and the U.S. Air Force to enhance the system’s discriminating EW capabilities, including the use of cognitive EW as demonstrated during the Northern Edge 2023 (NE23) large force exercise test event.
The NE23 event tested EPAWSS’ ability to rapidly respond to previously unencountered electromagnetic threats. The tests challenged the system’s ability to process in-mission sensor data, create exquisite techniques, and optimize waveforms in real time. The NE23 environment challenged the system to execute the tasks in a dense, unpredictable electromagnetic spectrum at a theater-exercise level.
Maj Bryant “Jager” Baum, EPAWSS Test Director for the Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), stated; “EPAWSS has set the baseline for EW within the fighter community.
“EPAWSS is a leap in technology, improving the lethality and combat capabilities of the F-15E and F-15EX in contested, degraded environments against advanced threats. BAE Systems currently carries out the EPAWSS program at its facilities in Nashua, New Hampshire and Austin, Texas, actively producing EPAWSS hardware in support of F-15EX new-aircraft production and F-15E aircraft fleet modifications.”
Amy Nesbitt, EPAWSS program manager at BAE Systems, commented; “EPAWSS was designed for upgradeability and rapid capability insertion. We’re using agile software development to provide iterative upgrades to fielded EW systems—allowing our customers to defeat future electromagnetic threats.”
Chip Mosle, program director at BAE Systems, added; “Our close collaboration with the U.S. Air Force allows us to mature EPAWSS cognitive processing capabilities. By incrementally testing and fielding cognitive EW solutions to proven systems such as EPAWSS, we are enabling tactical spectrum overmatch against advanced threats that are unpredictable, evolving, and adaptable.”
