NASHUA, N.H. / AUSTIN, Texas — BAE Systems announced on October 6, 2026, that it has received a $1.2 billion subcontract from Lockheed Martin to manufacture and deliver high-performance AN/ASQ-239 Electronic Warfare (EW) systems for the F-35 Lightning II program.
The agreement covers the production and integration of hardware for F-35 Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lots 20 through 22, alongside retrofit and modernization kits for earlier block aircraft across global fleets. Manufacturing operations are executing across BAE Systems’ specialized facilities in Austin, Texas, as well as Manchester, Merrimack, and Nashua, New Hampshire. To date, BAE Systems has delivered more than 1,500 AN/ASQ-239 suites to the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO).
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: AN/ASQ-239 ELECTRONIC WARFARE (EW) SUITE 
* Prime Subcontractor: BAE Systems Electronic Systems (Inc.)
* Lead Aircraft Prime: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics / F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO)
* Contract Value & Scope: $1.2 Billion (Subcontract award for Lots 20–22 production and active fleet retrofit/modernization)
* Manufacturing Facilities: Austin, TX; Manchester, NH; Merrimack, NH; Nashua, NH
* System Architecture & Core Capabilities:
* Frequency & Spatial Coverage: 360-degree all-aspect electromagnetic spectrum sensing, detection, and geolocation
* Mission Functions: Integrated Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), Electronic Support Measures (ESM), Electronic Attack (EA/jamming), and self-protection countermeasures
* Sensor Fusion Integration: Direct data feeding into the F-35’s central fusion computer, correlating emitter tracks with AN/APG-81 AESA radar and Distributed Aperture System (DAS) telemetry
* Software Agility: Rapid, operator-updatable threat libraries and algorithmic logic to counter emerging non-state and integrated air defense threats
* Platform Impact & Industrial Scaling:
* Force Modernization: Enables Block 4 and future capability upgrades for low-observable penetration into contested anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) airspace
* Facility Modernization: Incorporates advanced automated assembly, updated digital designs, and supply-chain expansion investments
