Offensive/Defensive EW System for F-16 Block 70/72

L3Harris Technologies announced on 30 January that its Viper Shield EW system has achieved its critical design review (CDR) milestone.

Custom designed to provide offensive and defensive EW capabilities for for F-16 Block 70/72 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) aircraft, the AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield completed the CDR with the USAF and Lockheed Martin observing. The system will provide a virtual electronic shield that improves aircraft protection through a multiple digital RF, memory-based jamming system.

“Viper Shield is the highest-performance, lowest-risk EW option for F-16 Vipers in an increasingly dangerous world,” observed Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “As the only EW system for these aircraft to successfully achieve this CDR milestone, we are one step closer to helping our global customers detect and defeat modern advanced threats.”

In late 2022, Viper Shield successfully demonstrated interoperability with the new APG-83 AESA radar during testing at Lockheed Martin’s Systems Integration Lab. Fully integrated and internally mounted, it features an open-systems architecture using commercial-off-the-shelf technology for easier future upgrades and lower lifecycle costs. L3Harris removed the need for US government funding to develop Viper Shield by leveraging internal R&D investment and international commitments.

With the approach of the next critical milestone in Q2/2023, Viper Shield will return to the Systems Integration Lab, with newly integrated hardware and software, to demonstrate full integration of the next planned increment of capabilities with the target aircraft.