IIT Exelis, SAIC Team Up To Support Radar Countermeasure Program

IIT Exelis has won a contract from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to provide engineering support for the Adaptive Radar Countermeasures (ARC) program.

This five-year contract could be worth $15.6 million if all options are exercised.

Administered by DARPA, the ARC program will enable U.S. airborne electronic warfare (EW) systems to detect and counter digitally programmable radar systems whose waveforms and behaviors are new, unknown or ambiguous.

"With radio frequency threats evolving, we need a capability that will anticipate and meet these threats as they emerge," said Joe Rambala, vice president and general manager of the Exelis integrated electronic warfare systems business. "SAIC and Exelis are teaming to ensure our warfighters can perform their missions safely and securely."

The ARC program consists of two major elements; the SAIC-led development of new processing techniques and algorithms in a software environment and the Exelis-managed implementation of these techniques with a prototype module within a target system. This process may lead to a new, adaptive EW protection system for airborne platforms within the next five years.

"We look forward to producing a comprehensive ARC solution that will potentially mitigate future advanced radio frequency threats to airborne platforms," said John Fratamico, SAICsenior vice president and group general manager. "This technology represents the future of electronic warfare systems."