UK MoD unveils first steps for British Army Watchkeeper replacement
Project Corvus will look for a replacement for the Watchkeeper Mk1 uncrewed aerial system (UAS) that was retired from service in the British Army in March 2025.
AN/APR-39E(V)2 radar warning receivers contracted for initial production
Northrop Grumman's AN/APR-39E(V)2 has been designed for a range of aircraft. (Image: Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman’s AN/APR-39(V) series of Radar Warning Receivers (RWRs) have been designed to equip a wide array of aircraft. Specifications regarding the waveband have not been revealed but the equipment will likely be able to detect emissions from radars transmitting in wavebands of two gigahertz/GHz to 18GHz.
Northrop Grumman will manufacture initial production units of AN/APR-39E(V)2 RWR for the US Army under a five-year contract announced on 11 March.
The AN/APR-39E(V)2, previously known as the Modernized RWR, will provide an improved level of precision in detecting, locating and identifying threats by combining the company’s digital receiver exciter architecture with new digital signal processing algorithms, its manufacturer claimed.
The AN/APR-39E(V)2 is a fully digital RWR with the instantaneous bandwidth and frequency coverage to protect against what Northrop Grumman described as “advanced radar threats”.
The system has an open architecture design to allow growth to future electronic warfare capabilities and uses a smart antenna and advanced processing to detect a broad range of radio frequency threats.
Another design feature noted by the company was its readiness to be the survivability suite controller in multi-domain, large-scale combat operations. The system, the company said, was capable of sharing threat data, enhancing survivability and mission effectiveness.
In March 2019, Northrop Grumman announced it had received an award from the US Army to develop the AN/APR-39E(V)2, which has become the latest in the large family of RWRs. There are more than 6,000 RWRs in service with US forces and hundreds have been in service with forces from Sweden, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and South Korea.
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