Mary-Louise Hoffman
The U.S. Defense Department has approved Exelis-made electronic warfare pods for installation aboard Block 15 F-16A/B fighters operated by foreign military sale customers.
Exelis said Thursday its Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare System has been validated through the SEEK EAGLE aircraft-stores certification program.
The AIDEWS approval could be immediately extended to domestic and international F-16 Blocks 25 to 52, according to Exelis.
Exelis, the Air Force and F-16 developer Lockheed Martin collaborated to perform compatibility flight profile tests on the electronic warfare technology at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
AIDEWS is built to defend Falcon fighter jets against radio frequency threats and designed to be configured according to mission requirements.
