Boeing on October 1 announced its selection by the U.S. Air Force to serve as prime contractor for the service’s Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS), a new electronic warfare suite planned for the F-15 fighter. The F-15 manufacturer has selected BAE Systems as subcontractor to develop the system.

EPAWSS is an integrated, all-digital system that will protect F-15s with advanced electronic countermeasures, radar warning and increased chaff and flare capability, in a smaller footprint than the fighter’s current 1980s-era Tactical Electronic Warfare System, BAE Systems said. “This selection builds on our extensive electronic warfare legacy, a history we were able to leverage to develop an executable, affordable, and low-risk solution for the F-15 fleet,” said Brian Walters, BAE vice president and general manager of Electronic Combat Solutions.

The Air Force will install EPAWSS on more than 400 F-15Es and F-15Cs. The upgrade program is valued at $4 billion, according to Boeing, which has also identified EPAWSS as an element of its proposed “F-15 2040C” series of upgrades to extend the life of the fourth-generation fighter.

“As we look at future threats, enhanced electronic warfare is more essential than ever to improve overall survivability,” stated Lt. Col. James Parslow, the Air Force’s F-15 EPAWSS program manager. “We look forward to adding this next-generation capability to enhance the air superiority mission of the F-15.”