BAE Systems has launched a new family of compact electronic warfare systems intended for use on smaller airborne platforms, combining situational awareness, self-protection and other electronic warfare functions in a package designed around low size, weight and power requirements, according to the company.

The Shadow EW family is aimed at aircraft and uncrewed systems that cannot accommodate the larger electronic warfare suites normally carried by bigger combat platforms. BAE Systems said the systems are intended to support missions including situational awareness, targeting, deception, survivability and collaborative effects, with an open architecture intended to make them easier to integrate onto different aircraft.

The company said Shadow EW uses commercial microchips for high-performance computing, allowing the systems to be produced in greater numbers and at lower cost than more bespoke electronic warfare equipment. The hardware is configurable and designed to receive software updates in the field, allowing changes to be introduced as threats and operating requirements develop.

Rebecca Cruz, Director of Shadow EW products at BAE Systems, said: “The modern battlefield is changing at an unprecedented pace and all platforms, regardless of size, require adaptable electronic warfare capabilities to survive. Shadow EW solutions provide flexible, configurable hardware paired with iterative software updates to counter rapidly evolving threats.”

BAE Systems said the products are intended for high-volume applications and rapid integration onto small airborne platforms, with the electronics designed to provide capabilities more commonly associated with larger aircraft while keeping weight, power demand and physical size down. The company is positioning the family for use across a range of missions where aircraft may have to operate in contested electromagnetic environments.

Production of the Shadow EW family will take place at BAE Systems facilities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, while software development and design work will be carried out in Nashua, New Hampshire. Further details on the system are available through BAE Systems’ Shadow EW product page.