AN/SLQ-32

The AN/SLQ-32 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) is a major line item in the Navy's FY 2026 budget, focused on modernizing and sustaining the fleet's electronic warfare (EW) capabilities. The program's goal is to upgrade the legacy AN/SLQ-32 system through a series of block improvements, ensuring robust detection and countermeasure capabilities against current and emerging threats. SEWIP extends the service life of AN/SLQ-32(V) systems and enhances survivability, operational availability, and threat response for surface ships.

The FY 2026 request supports procurement, installation, and engineering change proposals for multiple blocks and variants, reflecting a comprehensive approach to EW modernization.

SEWIP Block 1B2 Federated Specific Emitter Identification (SEI) aims to fully integrate SEI functionality with the Improved Console And Display (ICAD) and Q-70 console. This block provides hardware and modification kits to enable specific emitter identification, enhancing threat discrimination and situational awareness. The FY 2026 budget supports production, installation, and design services allocation for future installations, with phased funding aligned to ship modernization schedules. This ensures that ships which missed initial upgrades receive the necessary backfit to maintain fleet-wide capability.

SEWIP Block 1B3 High Gain High Sensitivity (HGHS) delivers a critical adjunct sensor for improved threat correlation and extended battlespace awareness. Block 1B3 units, when installed with Block 2 and Block 3, form the advanced AN/SLQ-32(V)6 and (V)7 configurations. The FY 2026 request funds production support, procurement of new systems, and installation planning, including addressing units beyond economical repair due to spares cannibalization. Production support activities encompass oversight, cybersecurity compliance, and technical certifications, ensuring reliable integration into shipboard combat systems.

SEWIP Block 2 Electronic Support (ES) System provides upgraded antennas, receivers, and combat system interfaces to pace evolving threats and mitigate electromagnetic interference. Block 2 hardware includes the ES system, Blanker-Video Mixer Group, Common Processing and Display Systems, Liquid Conditioning Unit, and Data Adaptation Processor. The FY 2026 budget covers procurement, installation, spares, and refurbishment, with installations phased to match ship availabilities. Block 2 also incorporates the Virtual Path Cross-Connect (VPX) upgrade, which transitions to production in FY 2026, enhancing processing throughput, fault tolerance, and enabling future AI growth for rapid threat identification.

SEWIP Block 3 Electronic Attack (EA) System is designed to provide advanced electronic attack capabilities, building on ES delivered by previous blocks. Block 3 is fielded on CVN, DDG, and LHD surface ships, with FY 2026 funding supporting production, spares, tech refresh, engineering change proposals (ECPs), and chilled water conversion for improved cooling and safety. The budget also supports integration and testing of SEWIP blocks into the (V)7 system, with installations requiring significant ship reconfiguration and land-based integration sponsons for testing. The Block 3 EA Rack ECP further improves system reliability, producibility, and availability.

Scaled Onboard Electronic Attack (SOEA) is a new initiative to provide scalable EA counter-targeting capabilities for ships with size, weight, power, and cooling constraints that cannot support the full AN/SLQ-32(V)7 system. SOEA is not a replacement but a complementary capability, fielded incrementally through a Middle Tier Acquisition strategy. The FY 2026 request funds the transition from prototype to production, procurement of fleet units, spares, production support, and ECPs for Phase II improvements, with installations planned to align with ship schedules and integration requirements.

Additional objectives within the AN/SLQ-32 line item include support for US Coast Guard ships via SEWIP Lite variants tailored for smaller platforms, procurement and sustainment of training systems for operator and maintenance readiness, and establishment of organic depot repair capabilities through test set procurement. Engineering change proposals address reliability, maintainability, environmental survivability, and obsolescence, ensuring long-term supportability and affordability. The FY 2026 funding increase is driven by higher procurement quantities for SEWIP Lite, test sets, VPX kits, and new requirements such as Antenna Array Panel Assemblies, reflecting the Navy's commitment to maintaining a modern and resilient EW posture across the fleet.