Northrop Grumman delivers F-35 electronic warfare simulation capability to U.S. Navy

Northrop Grumman delivered its multispectral testing solution for F-35 electronic warfare simulation capabilities to the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) at Point Mugu, California. The company says this delivery included the most sophisticated test environment the company has ever created.

Northrop Grumman’s multispectral testing solution recreates accurate mission-like conditions in the laboratory and on the range. The environment consists of Combat Electromagnetic Environment Simulator (CEESIM), Signal Measurement System (SMS) and other stimulators, all under control of the Synchronizer Controller System (SCS). These systems provide RF simulation, measurement and synchronization of simultaneous emitters simulate true-to-war conditions.

“These systems work together to provide the environment complexity and density, measurement and analysis capability, and test control capability necessary to evaluate the F-35 in a realistic mission scenario,” said Joe Downie, director, land and avionics C4ISR division, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.

The CEESIM simulates multiple, simultaneous RF emitters, static and dynamic platform attributes to model true-to-war conditions. CEESIM’s Advanced Pulse Generation high-speed direct digital synthesizer technology is used to generate electronic warfare mission scenarios.

The SMS provides wide bandwidth signal measurement that records and analyzes capabilities used to validate the test environment and evaluate the system performance.

The SCS provides tools to program an integrated multispectral test scenario including threat radars, communications signals, radar and EO/IR signatures. The SCS also manages the execution of the scenario by all of the stimulators to ensure a coherent multispectral test environment.