Lockheed Martin Eyes JP154/2

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Nigel Pittaway | Brisbane

Lockheed Martin provided briefings on its Next Generation Symphony radio-controlled IED defeat system at Land Forces, as it eyes the Commonwealth’s JP154 Phase 2 requirement for a Joint Counter-IED system.

Mark Tracey, senior program manager, Ground Forces Electronic Warfare said that the Next Generation Symphony builds on the current Symphony Block system which has been in production since 2005 and is now in its Block 20A configuration.

“It provides contiguous frequency coverage and is an open architecture, modular design,” Tracey detailed.

“The Next Generation Symphony uses a mix of commercial off the shelf and some modified COTS modules. That way Lockheed Martin can continue to drive the cost down through competition between its suppliers.”

Tracey said the system was vehicle agnostic but had some power requirements – either 12 Volts/70 Amps or 24 Volts/50 Amps.

The unit itself is mounted within the vehicle and weighs 120 pounds (54.4 kg) and also requires external antennae to be fitted.

“It has been developed to defeat all current, emerging and future threats,” he said.

“It uses sophisticated algorithms and COTS hardware to provide consistent and extensive coverage.”

Tracey also said that Lockheed Martin was looking to commercialise the intellectual property of the system wherever possible.

The NG Symphony is now in production and 125 had been produced at the time of the Land Forces Conference.

It has been sold to two undisclosed (but non-US) customers as an in-field replacement for existing systems and it has won one of two US Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) contracts.

Tracey revealed that Lockheed Martin has recently met with DSTO and the Joint Electronic Warfare Operational Support Unit (JEWOSU) at Edinburgh.

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