ITT Exelis completed a successful demonstration of the new block upgrade of its Advanced Defensive Electronic Warfare System (AIDEWS), under a cooperative effort between the Chilean Air Force, U.S. Air Force, and Exelis. This flight effort culminates a year of planning and coordination by FACh and U.S. personnel, as well as extensive laboratory and flight-testing in the U.S. At the conclusion of flight operations, FACh officials expressed confidence in AIDEWS as a “critical operational asset.” The updated Block 5.2 configuration supports the upcoming delivery of combat capable electronic warfare mission data to five countries with AIDEWS equipped F-16s. Among the air forces using the AIDEWS with their F-16s are Turkish, Pakistani, Omani and Chilean air forces.
The tests that demonstrated the latest enhancements in the system’s air-to-air electronic warfare capability involved a series of missions flown by multi-ship F-16 formations. Pilots of Fuerza Area de Chile (FACh) Squadron No 3 at Los Condores Air Base, Chile, flew six missions on F-16 Block 50 aircraft from July 4 to 18, 2012. Those missions effectively demonstrated the performance of AIDEWS Block 5.2 against multiple airborne fire control radars with overlapping operating frequencies.
AIDEWS is built upon the proven AN/ALQ-211 family of electronic warfare systems now in use to support a broad range of U.S. and allied defense customers on many aircraft. These include versions of the CV-22, MH-47, MH-60, F-16, Boeing 737s, NH-90, and several other platforms. The system is currently in full production with more than 160 systems under contract for six nations as part of the F-16 Foreign Military Sales program.
