HMS Northumberland seen during Exercise ‘Cold Response' in March 2022. The new Ardent Wolf CESM capability will replace the current Hammerhead system on RN Type 23 frigates. (Royal Navy/Crown copyright)
UK engineering and services group Babcock has been contracted by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide a new maritime communications electronic support measures (CESM) capability to replace the Hammerhead CESM suite fitted to Royal Navy (RN) Type 23 frigates.
The company announced on 6 October that the six-year programme would deliver, install, and support the new Ardent Wolf CESM capability on RN Type 23 ships. The contract – the value of which has not been disclosed – will involve equipment installation, repair and maintenance, system and design safety, contractor logistics support, training, and all updates.
Babcock has partnered with a specialist UK-based small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) to deliver Ardent Wolf. The SME concerned has not been identified but is understood to be an established supplier of signals intelligence/radio frequency monitoring equipment.
The MoD commenced procurement activity for Ardent Wolf in mid-2021, outlining plans for a UK-sourced solution founded on a readily available commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product at a high technical readiness level. The new system is required to utilise the extant CESM infrastructure on the Type 23 frigates, with the contract expected to deliver a minimum of seven COTS-based systems.
Babcock earlier delivered the Hammerhead CESM system to the RN in partnership with US contractor Argon ST (a subsidiary of Boeing). In April 2021 Babcock received a GBP1.3 million (USD1.47 million) Hammerhead Life Extension contract from the MoD to sustain the existing equipment in service until March 2025.
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