737 Spacious, Modern Replacement For EP-3

Boeing is finally showing off one of its more poorly kept secrets.

Its planners are polishing the design for an EP-3E-replacement signals intelligence aircraft for the U.S. Navy and a likely future offering for the international market. The new design, revealed Jan. 24, comes in response to the death of the Army/Navy Aerial Common Sensor contract offered by Lockheed Martin.

Playing off the basic P-8A Multimission Maritime Aircraft (a 737-800 with a longer 737-900 wing), Boeing officials say they will already have a hot production line (ITAR compliant for classified military work), a proven open electronic architecture and common crew workstations that can be adapted to virtually any surveillance task. MMA is to make its first flight in 2009 and have its first operational unit in 2013. Production could then pick up with the sigint aircraft in time to meet the end of the EP-3's flying life.

Perhaps most intriguing, the large size of the aircraft will offer better antenna separation and longer electronic baselines. That means the aircraft would be capable of producing more accurate locations and ranges of enemy electronic emitters. A long-baseline also means the ability to gather much lower frequency signals than smaller tactical aircraft normally used for battlefield sigint. Advanced data links, including satellite communications, would ensure network-centric capabilities for rapid targeting.