The U.S. Navy declared initial operational capability for the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) system in December, bringing a quantum leap in capability over legacy systems with drastic increases in power, target flexibility and jamming technique for naval aviation operations worldwide.

The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) has selected Jacob Kiehlmeier as the civilian Tester of the Year for 2023. Kiehlmeier served as the lead test engineer for the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) Integrated Test Team (ITT) supporting the Airborne Electronic Attack Systems Program Office (PMA-234).

Kiehlmeier led a national integrated team and provided oversight during comprehensive testing of the Navy’s NGJ-MB electronic warfare pod. NGJ-MB was developed to augment and ultimately replace the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System on the EA-18G Growler.

The U.S. and Australian fleets are one step closer to getting the next increment of the U.S. Navy’s most advanced airborne electronic attack (AEA) system. The Navy awarded L3 Technologies Inc., Communication Systems-West a $587.4 million contract Aug. 26 for the engineering and manufacturing development of the Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) system.

The Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Systems Program Office (PMA-234) hosted its inaugural JAMinar in June. The pilot program aimed to equip new program office personnel with valuable knowledge and program office-focused courses to better support PMA-234 and the warfighter.

For the first time, U.S. and Australian fleet aviation maintainers worked together on the newest Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) weapons system during a recent logistics demonstration conducted at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

Five U.S. Navy Sailors and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airmen participated in a six-week training event in February and March with the AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) pods that will be used on the EA-18G Growler aircraft.

The Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) program received Milestone C approval from Frederick J. Stefany, acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition on June 28.  This decision gives NGJ-MB the green light to enter the Production and Deployment phase and proceed with Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP).

The U.S. Navy awarded a $496 million Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract to L3Harris Technologies on Dec. 18 to further the Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) capability.

The contract supports the final design efforts and manufacturing of eight operational prototype pods and four test pods that will be used for various levels of testing and fleet employment to include airworthiness, functionality, and integration with and carriage on the EA-18G Growler host aircraft.

The Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) program received approval to enter the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) acquisition phase Dec. 8.

The Honorable James Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, the NGJ-LB Milestone Decision Authority, assessed the NGJ-LB program is ready to proceed to the next acquisition phase.

U.S. Navy Sailors recently tested the validity of the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) capability’s maintenance plans and technical manuals during a recent logistics demonstration at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland.