U.S. Navy warship sensor deal could reach $1.7 billion

The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a $209 million contract modification to keep building the AN/SLQ-32(V)6, the electronic warfare system that warns U.S. Navy surface ships of incoming anti-ship missiles and the radars guiding them.

The U.S. Department of War announced the award, made Sept. 30. The modification includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to about $1.7 billion. Work is scheduled to run through September 2029.

The AN/SLQ-32, known to sailors as the “Slick-32,” has been the U.S. Navy’s main shipboard electronic warfare system for decades. The (V)6 version is the product of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, or SEWIP, Block 2. It adds new antennas, a more capable receiver and an open interface to the ship’s combat system, along with a high-gain, high-sensitivity sensor developed under an earlier SEWIP phase.

It picks up radar and radio signals from enemy ships, aircraft and missiles, identifies them and pinpoints their direction. According to the U.S. Navy, the (V)6 is meant to improve anti-ship missile defense, help ships avoid being targeted and tracked, and give crews a clearer picture of who is emitting around them. Crews can run it manually from a console, or the ship’s combat management system can control it automatically.

Lockheed Martin won the SEWIP Block 2 development contract in 2009. The first AN/SLQ-32(V)6 was installed on the destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) in 2014 for at-sea testing, and the system entered full-rate production in 2016. The U.S. Navy awarded a follow-on full-rate production contract in January 2020 covering the standard (V)6 and smaller variants, including a “Lite” version sized for ships with less room and power to spare.

The next step in the program, SEWIP Block 3, adds an electronic attack capability that can actively jam threats. That version is designated AN/SLQ-32(V)7 and is built by Northrop Grumman.

Most of the money obligated on this award comes from the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding account. About $129.5 million, or 62 percent, is fiscal 2026 shipbuilding and conversion funding, which typically pays for equipment going onto ships under construction. Another $78.5 million comes from fiscal 2025 and 2026 other procurement funds, which are generally used to upgrade ships already in service, and about $1 million is research and development funding.

Lockheed Martin will do 78 percent of the work at its Rotary and Mission Systems site in Liverpool, New York, near Syracuse, where the company runs its electronic warfare business. The remaining 22 percent will be done in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.