U.S. Navy Awards L3Harris $876M to Advance Next-Generation Jammer Low Band for EA-18G Growler.

The U.S. Navy has added $876.4 million to L3Harris Technologies’ Next Generation Jammer Low Band effort for the EA-18G Growler, according to a September 23, 2026 contracting notice, accelerating development of a more powerful electronic-attack capability for U.S. and Australian forces. NGJ-LB is designed to improve the Growler’s ability to disrupt low-frequency radars and other electromagnetic threats, helping combat aircraft and weapons operate against increasingly sophisticated air-defense networks.

The expanded effort covers demonstration pods, cybersecurity, software, testing and production-enabling work through fiscal 2031 as NGJ-LB moves toward replacing low-band functions of the aging AN/ALQ-99 jammer. Its digital architecture and electronically scanned arrays are intended to deliver greater jamming power, longer reach and faster upgrades, strengthening the Growler’s role in suppressing enemy air defenses and supporting U.S.–Australian operations in contested airspace.

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The U.S. Navy awarded L3Harris an $876.4 million contract modification to advance the Next Generation Jammer Low Band, strengthening the EA-18G Growler’s future electronic-attack capability (Picture Source: U.S. Navy)

On September 23, 2026, the U.S. Navy awarded L3Harris Technologies an $876.4 million contract modification to advance the Next Generation Jammer Low Band, a critical electronic-attack system destined for the EA-18G Growler. The aircraft is operated by the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force, making the program central to a shared effort to modernize airborne electronic warfare capabilities. The award significantly expands development, testing and production-enabling activity around NGJ-LB as the two services move toward replacing legacy jamming technology. The contract was announced by the U.S. Department of War in its September 23 contracting notice.

L3Harris received the $876,440,942 cost-plus-incentive-fee, undefinitized modification, designated P00021, under previously awarded contract N0001924C0061. According to the announcement, the expanded scope covers continued NGJ-LB development, non-recurring tooling and equipment, associated labor, system demonstration test article pods, additional cybersecurity and system-security development, and product, logistics, test and evaluation, and software support for the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force. Work will continue through fiscal 2031, with Salt Lake City accounting for 43% of performance and additional activity distributed across several U.S. locations and Australia. At award, $3.65 million in fiscal 2026 Navy research, development, test and evaluation funding and $23.04 million in RAAF cooperative funding will be obligated. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity, and the modification itself was not competitively procured.

The modification builds on the Navy's August 2024 engineering and manufacturing development award to L3Harris, initially valued at approximately $587.4 million. That program supports the final design effort and manufacturing of operational prototype pods and other system-level prototypes for the U.S. Navy and RAAF. At the center of the effort is the Next Generation Jammer Low Band, an external electronic-attack capability specifically designed for the EA-18G Growler. NGJ-LB is intended to address advanced and emerging threats operating in the lower-frequency portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and ultimately replace the corresponding functions of the legacy AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System. NAVAIR says the broader NGJ family employs digital, software-based and electronically scanned-array technologies designed to provide greater power, longer-range jamming and more rapid hardware and software upgrades against evolving threats.

That capability places NGJ-LB directly at the heart of the EA-18G Growler's airborne electronic-attack mission. Derived from the F/A-18F Super Hornet, the Growler combines tactical aviation performance with a specialized electronic-warfare suite and can conduct suppression of enemy air defenses and other electronic-attack missions. Its existing architecture still includes the ALQ-99, a system that first reached initial operational capability in 1971 and has undergone successive upgrades to remain relevant against evolving threats. NGJ is intended to progressively replace that legacy system across the Growler fleet. The transition represents more than a routine pod replacement: it is a generational modernization of the aircraft's ability to disrupt, deny and degrade hostile radar, communications and other electromagnetic-spectrum-dependent systems.

For the U.S. Navy, the strategic significance extends beyond the Growler itself. Modern carrier air operations increasingly depend on the ability to penetrate or operate near sophisticated integrated air-defense networks supported by radar, communications and networked sensors. By attacking an adversary's ability to detect, classify, track or coordinate against friendly forces, electronic attack can help create operational opportunities for strike aircraft, stand-off weapons and other joint-force assets. NAVAIR has stated that NGJ-LB is intended to increase the lethality of fourth- and fifth-generation platforms and strike weapons, while the broader NGJ architecture offers increased jamming power at longer ranges and the ability to adapt more quickly through hardware and software updates. For carrier aviation, that adaptability is particularly important because electromagnetic threats can evolve much faster than traditional aircraft replacement cycles.

The Australian component adds an important allied and interoperability dimension. Australia is the foreign operator cooperatively employing the EA-18G Growler with the United States and has partnered with the U.S. Navy on development of the Next Generation Jammer. Canberra's AIR 5349 Phase 6 Advanced Growler program includes Next Generation Jammer capabilities alongside aircraft modifications, sensor upgrades, weapons and supporting electronic-warfare infrastructure.

The September 2026 modification specifically provides development and support for both the Navy and RAAF, reinforcing the long-term alignment of their electronic-attack capabilities. The presence of non-recurring tooling, demonstration test article pods, cybersecurity development, software, logistics and test support also indicates that the program is building the technical and industrial foundation required for later fielding. It is important, however, not to characterize the latest modification as a full-rate production decision: NGJ-LB remains in the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase, and GAO's 2026 assessment lists major milestones including the low-rate production decision, operational testing, initial capability and full-rate production decision as still to be determined.

The $876.4 million expansion places Next Generation Jammer Low Band among the most consequential ongoing upgrades to the EA-18G Growler's electronic-attack mission, while extending program activity through fiscal 2031. For the U.S. Navy, its importance lies not simply in replacing elements of the aging ALQ-99 architecture, but in developing a more powerful, software-driven and adaptable electronic-warfare capability designed for increasingly complex electromagnetic environments. With Australia embedded in the effort and the latest modification expanding work across demonstration hardware, cybersecurity, tooling, software, testing and sustainment, NGJ-LB is taking shape as a major pillar of future U.S.–Australian airborne electronic attack and a critical enabler for naval aviation operating against increasingly sophisticated air-defense networks.

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Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.