SEWIP (AN/SLQ-32)

The U.S. Navy's shipboard electronic-warfare backbone — a long-running AN/SLQ-32 modernization program that detects, classifies and, in newer blocks, jams radar-guided anti-ship threats.

Overview

SEWIP, the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, is the U.S. Navy's incremental modernization path for the AN/SLQ-32 shipboard electronic-warfare suite. The original AN/SLQ-32, nicknamed "Slick 32," was fielded as a surface-ship threat-warning and jamming family; SEWIP keeps that architecture relevant through block upgrades rather than replacing it outright. The Navy describes SEWIP as a program for early detection, signal analysis, threat warning, counter-targeting and counter-surveillance against anti-ship missile threats and their supporting radars, with the program managed through PEO Integrated Warfare Systems and NAVSEA Navy Fact File.

The system is not a single frozen configuration. Legacy AN/SLQ-32 variants span passive warning receivers and active-jamming suites; SEWIP Block 2, formally AN/SLQ-32(V)6 and AN/SLQ-32C(V)6 for the scaled "SEWIP Lite" configuration, upgrades electronic support and combat-system integration; SEWIP Block 3, AN/SLQ-32(V)7, adds modern electronic attack for non-kinetic "soft-kill" defense. As of 2026, Block 2 and Block 3 are both in production or fielding, with Lockheed Martin leading Block 2 and Northrop Grumman leading Block 3 Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman.

Development

The AN/SLQ-32 lineage began in the early 1970s, after the 1967 sinking of the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat by Soviet-built Styx anti-ship missiles highlighted the surface-fleet vulnerability to radar-guided sea-skimming weapons. The Chief of Naval Operations authorized development of a lower-cost electronic-warfare suite in 1972 to replace or augment the older AN/WLR-1, and the Navy awarded Raytheon the first production contract in May 1977; initial operational capability followed in FY1979 FAS/Military Analysis Network.

Baseline AN/SLQ-32 variants reflected ship size and mission. The (V)1 was a basic threat-warning receiver for auxiliaries; the (V)2 added passive detection of higher-frequency targeting and fire-control radars; the (V)3 added active jamming antennas for targeting radars and missile terminal seekers; and the (V)4 paired two (V)3 systems for aircraft carriers Wikipedia. The formative operational lesson came on 17 May 1987, when USS Stark, equipped with the passive-only AN/SLQ-32(V)2, was struck by two Iraqi-fired Exocet missiles in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 sailors. The incident did not prove a failed jamming engagement, because Stark's configuration lacked active jamming by design; it did expose the risk of passive-only installations and drove the rapid "Sidekick" jamming module that became part of the compact (V)5 frigate fit FAS/Military Analysis Network.

SEWIP itself emerged after the Navy cancelled the more ambitious Advanced Integrated Electronic Warfare System planned for DD(X)/DDG-1000. The Navy established SEWIP as an ACAT II program of record in July 2002 to improve the existing AN/SLQ-32 fleet through incremental blocks, with Block 1 addressing obsolescence and near-term anti-ship missile defense improvements, Block 2 rebuilding electronic support, and Block 3 adding a new electronic-attack layer USNI Proceedings.

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