Electronic jamming backpack systems to protect U.S. Marines from roadside improvised explosive devices are being produced by Northrop Grumman.

Five initial production systems have been ordered from the company for testing under the Counter Radio-controlled IED Electronic Warfare Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operation Capable, or CREW MEU, contract, which has a value of $4.1 million.

Additional units will be provided under a five-year multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract if testing is successful, Northrop said.

The IDIQ contract would carry a maximum value totaling $90 million.

Northrop is offering its Freedom 240 dismounted system for the CREW MEU contract. It's part of the Joint CREW Increment 1 Build 1 family of precision multi-functional electronic warfare systems for protection from IEDs, which is funded and managed by the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command.

"Our troops face the IED threat around the world, and these Marine Expeditionary Units are the ones that go to the most dangerous places at a moment's notice," said Mike Twyman, sector vice president and general manager, Defense Systems division, Northrop Grumman Information Systems. "Northrop Grumman's Freedom 240 dismounted system is lightweight, powerful and designed to keep up with these hard-fighting Marines.

"The Freedom 240 is designed to defeat complex clusters of current, emerging and future IED threats. It's also capable of worldwide deployment with only software changes."

Added Jeannie Hilger, vice president, Network Communication Systems business, Northrop Grumman Information Systems: "Because the system features a fully open architecture common across all the JCREW I1B1 variants, the Marine Corps can take advantage of technologies developed by third parties and benefit from the system's flexibility, extensibility, ease of upgrades and reduced lifecycle cost."