BAE awarded $58 million contract to start EPAWSS low-rate production

Boeing has awarded a contract to BAE Systems to begin low-rate initial production of the F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System, which the Air Force plans to install on F-15E and EX jets.

BAE announced the $58 million contract in a press release today.

"The start of EPAWSS production marks a critical milestone and is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our industry team," BAE's Vice President and General Manager of Electronic Combat Solutions Jerry Wohletz said in the release.

Asked how many systems are included in the initial contract, BAE spokesman Mark Daly declined to provide a number, but said "the EPAWSS LRIP quantities align with the president's budget." The Air Force has indicated it will buy up to 217 units for the F-15E and 144 for the F-15EX.

EPAWSS is a digital electronic warfare and countermeasures system designed to provide radar warning, self-protection, geolocation and situational awareness capabilities. The Air Force's LRIP decision follows completion of "a series of rigorous flight tests, ground tests and intensive technology demonstrations," BAE said in the release.

The company is delivering incremental upgrades during the engineering and manufacturing development phase, updating software with new threat identification and geolocation features.

"As a result, system performance continues to improve in ground/flight test and in dense signal environments in hardware-in-the-loop tests at the U.S. Air Force's integrated demonstrations and applications laboratory," the release states.

The Air Force approved a new EPAWSS baseline last year, after its decision to integrate the system onto the F-15EX drove down the unit cost from $12.8 million to $12.18 million and set the service's life-cycle cost estimate at $5.2 billion, a $2 billion increase. A low-rate production decision was expected in 2019, but technology maturity issues delayed the decision and pushed back the start of operational testing and full-rate production by two years.