GAO finds redundancies with Next Generation Jammer

A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released on Aug. 20 on development of the Navy’s Next Generation Jammer project found that the electronic warfare system duplicates some current Defense Department capabilities.

The Navy awarded Raytheon a $279 million contract in July for the technology development phase of the program.

GAO found similar functionality between the Electronically Attack Enabled Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar, Communications Electronic Attack with Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Intrepid Tiger II and the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare systems. The report concluded that redundancies could lead to the inefficient use of resources, leaving other military requirements unmet.

The Next Generation Jammer will replace the ALQ-99 tactical jamming system and is expected to be operational by 2020. It is designed to neutralize or temporarily degrade enemy air defenses and communications.