Viper Shield flown on Block 70 F-16
The all-digital AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield electronic warfare (EW) suite by L3Harris Technologies, made its first flight on board a single-seat Block 70 F-16C operated by the 412th Test Wing, part of the Airpower Foundations Combined Test Force, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Viper Shield will provide the most advanced EW capability to some 168 Block 70/72 F-16C/Ds and F-16Vs operated by six international partners. FMS notifications indicate that Bahrain, Bulgaria, Morocco, Slovakia, and Taiwan will receive Viper Shield, while it has not been revealed exactly which EW suite will equip Greek and Jordanian Block 70s, nor Korean and Singaporean upgraded aircraft.
L3Harris announced in November 2024 that it had completed laboratory-based ‘safety of flight’ qualification activities on the Viper Shield system. Viper Shield had “passed a series of environmental and electrical tests across structural integrity, thermal and electrical safety, and aircraft aerodynamics,” and had also “handled the stresses and strains of normal and extreme flight manoeuvres” and had “proved to be safe, reliable and effective.” This cleared the way for the launch of a flight-test campaign.
Ed Zoiss, the President of Space and Airborne Systems, at L3Harris said that: “Our building block approach to test hardware and software in labs, demonstrate functionality in dense radio frequency environments and validate the EW system on the ground prepared us for Viper Shield’s successful first flight.”
The Royal Bahrani Air Force is the first operator of the F-16 Block 70, and two of its new aircraft (a single-seater and a two-seater) are based at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to support ongoing testing and evaluation, making them the natural choice for Viper Shield testing. The Airpower Foundations CTF is tasked with undertaking F-16 Foreign Military Sales test and evaluation.
Major Anthony Pipe, an F-16 Experimental Test Pilot assigned to the 416th Flight Test Squadron, the core of the Airpower Foundations Combined Test Force (CTF) and part of the 412th Test Wing, was the pilot for the first Viper Shield test flight.
The flight included a series of risk reduction tests related to the mission computer and other avionic subsystems compatibility, as well as interoperability with the APG-83 active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar.
He said that: “This flight launches the latest capability enhancement for the F-16 and our warfighters. The Viper Shield system combined with a Block 70 airframe creates a leap in capability compared to the traditional Block 50 Viper I grew up flying. The EW advancements this system brings will ensure pilots flying these aircraft continue to make it home.”
“The thing that we’re most excited about is the advances in the EW capabilities that Viper Shield will bring to the F-16. One of the biggest advantages is going to be the ability of the RWR, or Radar Warning Receiver, to more accurately display, in a more accurate way and in a better human factors way, to the pilots the threats they may face.”
Ed Zoiss, the President of Space and Airborne Systems, at L3Harris said that: “With this milestone, we are ready to continue flight testing and deliver systems in late 2025 as Viper Shield is the only advanced EW solution that is funded and in active production for international F-16 partners.”
The L3Harris AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield electronic warfare (EW) suite was specifically designed to maximize the survivability of the Block 70/72 F-16 against future threats, and is a low-risk, low-cost system that counters modern radar threats with immediate detection and advanced jamming responses to disrupt an adversary’s kill chain. Though designed for the Block 70, Viper Shield will integrate across all F-16 Blocks with minimal modifications to the aircraft, and it is fully configurable with both the current Mission Modular Computer and the Next Generation Mission Computer.
L3Harris developed the AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield in partnership with Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force, in order to provide US allies with “cutting-edge countermeasures against sophisticated, ever-changing threats.”
Viper Shield’s digital radar warning receiver (DRWR) technology integrates seamlessly with the Block 70’s new AN/APG-83 AESA radar, and will deliver greater situational awareness. The system also includes a digital radio frequency memory (DRFM)-based jamming system, which provides enhanced capability against advanced threats.
The system has fewer critical components than previous generation EW systems and consists of just six field-replaceable line-replaceable units (LRUs) and a cockpit display. It is based on an all-digital software-defined architecture and uses commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to give enhanced system performance, a smaller form factor, and reduced weight. This should facilitate easier future upgrades as technology and threats evolve. It also promises to deliver a higher mean time between failures and lower lifecycle costs.
