PATUXENT RIVER, Md. –
The U.S. Navy awarded the Phoenix Air Group Inc. a $165 million contract June 28 for Contracted Air Services (CAS) flight hours to simulate a variety of airborne electronic warfare (EW) threats to train, test and evaluate shipboard personnel and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew.
“Fleet training against airborne electronic attack forces is a priority and a critical path to achieving electromagnetic spectrum superiority,” said Capt. Greg Sutton, Adversary and Specialized Aircraft Program Office Program Manager. “The CAS EW jet services contract provides an ability to simulate both the threat and overall spectrum density of the current and future high-end fight, which is essential to effective aircrew training.”
The contract includes use of 10 contractor-owned and operated aircraft that can support up to 5,000 flight hours of EW jet capabilities per year for fleet scheduling on the East and West Coasts. They can be used in a variety of venues, from basic “schoolhouse” air intercept control training, large multinational exercises, and small, single unit training exercises, including target/banner tow missions supporting the Navy, Department of Defense (DOD) and non-DOD agencies.
“CAS affordably fills critical and mandatory training requirements, mitigating readiness gaps and capability divestments,” said the program office CAS EW Integrated Product Team Lead Matt Rhodes. “It provides fleet air defense training to include evaluation of evolving threats via uniquely modified aircraft configured as required to simulate Fleet Forces Command identified hostile EW near peer threats for air-to-air and air-to-surface training events.”
The EW jets contract is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with work beginning in August and slated for completion in August 2029.
From the Adversary and Specialized Aircraft Program Office. 