XBradTC

ALBUQUERQUE, March 24 (UPI) — Raytheon has received a U.S Air Force contract to update an electronic warfare payload for cruise missiles.

The system is a non-kinetic package known as CHAMP — Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile — which will disrupt enemy electronic systems and will be carried by Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missiles, or CALCMs.

via www.upi.com

This would appear to be a technology demonstration contract, rather than a contract for an operational weapon.

The first thought that pops into my head is that an EMP weapon would make a fine Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) tool. If you can shut down the radars and information networks of an enemy Integrated Air Defense System (IADS), you're way ahead of the game. Heck, just degrading them a little gives you a lot of options.