The AN/ALQ-250 EPAWSS achieved the Initial Operational Capability in early 2024 and is currently being fielded on the new F-15EX Eagle II and retrofitted on the F-15E Strike Eagle.
The U.S. Air Force has approved the full rate production of the F-15’s AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System. The service previously expected to award a contract for full-rate production of EPAWSS by the end of 2024, with the contract notice now published on Jan. 6, 2025.
To support full rate production, Boeing was awarded a ceiling $615,760,630 fixed-price incentive (firm-target), cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-reimbursable contract, says the Department of Defense. This contract provides for procurement of Group A and Group B kits, system engineering program management, and interim contractor support lay-in material.
The contract notice mentions that work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and Nashua, New Hampshire, as the latter is home of BAE System’s plant, where EPAWSS is manufactured, while the former is home of Boeing’s facilities, where the F-15EX is being produced. The number of EPAWSS systems ordered with this contract is unknown, however the contract mentions they must be completed by Dec. 31, 2030.
The Air Force completed in early 2024 the Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) of the EPAWSS for the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II. The AN/ALQ-250 EPAWSS, installed from the factory on the F-15EX and currently being retrofitted on a number of F-15Es, provides full-spectrum EW capabilities, including radar warning, geolocation, situational awareness, and self-protection to the F-15.
The AN/ALQ-250 EPAWSS
The Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System is a cutting-edge self-protection system intended to enable the F-15 to detect, identify, locate, deny, degrade, disrupt, and defeat air and surface-to-air threats during operations within highly contested environments. The system is installed from the factory as standard issue on the new F-15EX and is being retrofitted on F-15Es to replace obsolete components of the legacy Tactical Electronic Warfare System.
EPAWSS is fully integrated with radar warning, geo-location and increased chaff and flare capability to detect and defeat surface and airborne threats in signal-dense and highly contested environments. Because of this, the system enables freedom of maneuver and deeper penetration into battlespaces protected by modern integrated air defense systems.
“EPAWSS is a leap in technology, improving the lethality and combat capabilities of the F-15E and F-15EX in contested, degraded environments against advanced threats,” said Maj Bryant “Jager” Baum, EPAWSS Test Director for the Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center (AFOTEC). “EPAWSS has set the baseline for EW within the fighter community.”
BAE Systems, the manufacturer of the system, notes EPAWSS is notably smaller and lighter than previous EW systems for the F-15, thanks to its fully digital technology. The company also says EPAWSS has broad instantaneous bandwidth and a high-speed scan capability to detect all RF threat classes, including low probability of intercept and modern agile threats.
“EPAWSS was designed for upgradeability and rapid capability insertion,” added Amy Nesbitt, EPAWSS program manager at BAE Systems. “We’re using agile software development to provide iterative upgrades to fielded EW systems—allowing our customers to defeat future electromagnetic threats.”
The system in U.S. service is currently not integrated with the AN/AAR-57A(V) Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) designed to detect infrared threats, even if the F-15EX features the same mounting points used for these sensors on the F-15QA and F-15SA. However, systems like CMWS can still be integrated later, as BAE officials told us in 2021 that “EPAWSS can integrate with multiple sensor sources to provide warfighters with enhanced survivability via a fully integrated countermeasure response.”
EPAWSS also allows to increase the F-15’s chaff and flares capacity by 50%, with four more dispensers added in the EPAWSS fairings behind the tail fins (two for each fairing), for a total of 12 dispenser housing 360 cartridges. This improvement is important as in modern scenarios chaff and flares are often released preemptively to counter MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense System), meaning that now the Eagle will have more countermeasures available for a better protection.
EPAWSS integrates cognitive electronic warfare to better discriminate the signals received by the system. This capability was demonstrated during the Northern Edge 2023 large force exercise test event, which tested EPAWSS’ ability to rapidly respond to previously unencountered electromagnetic threats. The tests challenged the system’s ability to process in-mission sensor data, create exquisite techniques, and optimize waveforms in real time.
“Our close collaboration with the U.S. Air Force allows us to mature EPAWSS cognitive processing capabilities,” said Chip Mosle, program director at BAE Systems. “By incrementally testing and fielding cognitive EW solutions to proven systems such as EPAWSS, we are enabling tactical spectrum overmatch against advanced threats that are unpredictable, evolving, and adaptable.”
In the latest Director, Operational Test & Evaluation report, it is mentioned that EPAWSS replaces three functionally obsolete F-15 legacy Tactical Electronic Warfare System components: the AN/ALR-56C Radar Warning Receiver, the AN/ALQ-135 Internal Countermeasures Set, and the AN/ALE-45 Countermeasures Dispenser Set. The system also integrates with the F-15 AN/APG-82(V)1 radar and Advanced Display Core Processor II mission computer.
The first modifications for the F-15E, specifically an aircraft from the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath, UK, began in May 2023 and the aircraft was expected to return to its unit by 2QFY24. In total, the Air Force plans to retrofit 99 F-15Es and equip all F-15EXs with EPAWSS.
