USAF forges ahead on F-16 EW, avionics upgrades

Late production F-16C Block 50 aircraft in special markings for the commander, 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem, Germany. (Janes/Lindsay Peacock)

The US Air Force (USAF) is pressing ahead with development on a series of key electronic warfare (EW) battlefield awareness technologies for the air service's combat fleet.

USAF officials awarded Northrop Grumman a USD87.4 million deal to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) for the Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite Electronic Warfare (IVEWS) programme, service leaders announced in late September 2026. Under the terms of the deal, inked on 24 September, IVEWS programme officials with the company will provide LRIP versions of the IVEWS for integration aboard the Block 50 variants of the F-16.

The LRIP deal “builds on a rigorous test campaign where two systems have already accumulated more than 500 flight hours across 350 sorties,” Northrop Grumman spokesperson Jenn Womble said in a statement. Deliveries of the LRIP variants of IVEWS are expected by the first quarter of FY 2028.

The USAF had agreed to procure 206 IVEWS systems for integration onto the Block 50 and 52 variants of the F-16, as part of the service's fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget request issued in April. Lawmakers approved USD215 million as part of the FY 2026 USAF budget.

USAF programme officials also requested USD96.1 million in FY 2027 research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) dollars to finalise development and begin service qualifications for the IVEWS Spiral 1 software suite. That qualification process calls for “Formal Qualification Testing (SFQT), Firmware Formal Qualification Test (FFQT), and Design Verification Testing (DVT),” of the Spiral 1 suite, according to USAF budget documents. That Spiral 1 software suite “provides a baseline capability” for the programme, Northrop Grumman's IVEWS director Phil Louden told Janes in May 2026.