A Montville-based aerospace manufacturer with roots in a World War II-era basement machine shop has landed two contract awards tied to the U.S. Navy's next-generation electronic warfare pod, the company announced Wednesday. Marotta Controls, which also maintains offices in Parsippany, will supply key hardware for the Next Generation Jammer – Low Band program, an effort to replace jamming equipment that has flown on Navy aircraft since the Vietnam War.
The announcement, first reported by ROI-NJ, details how Marotta secured work through two separate paths into the same program. The company will supply the turbine speed control system for the NGJ-LB pod's ram air turbine power generation assembly under a subcontract with CFD Research, an employee-owned engineering firm headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama that specializes in modeling and prototyping for defense agencies, according to the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce. Separately, Marotta holds a direct award from L3Harris Technologies, the prime contractor on the NGJ-LB program.
A Program Built to Replace Cold War-Era Jamming Gear
The NGJ-LB program is one piece of a larger Next Generation Jammer system that will augment and ultimately replace the legacy AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System, which is used on EA-18G Growler aircraft. That ALQ-99 system originally entered service in 1971 during the Vietnam War aboard the EA-6B Prowler before migrating to the Growler, and it still relies on nose-mounted ram air turbines for electrical power, per Wikipedia. The new jammer system uses software and active electronically scanned array technologies and is designed to disrupt enemy air defense and ground communication systems while providing enhanced airborne electronic attack capabilities.
The Navy structured the broader Next Generation Jammer replacement effort into three frequency-based increments — Mid-Band, Low Band, and High Band — to incrementally upgrade the fleet's electronic attack capabilities, according to Naval Air Systems Command. The Mid-Band pod, built by Raytheon, was the first increment to reach operational status.
Years of Legal Delays Before the Contract Reached New Jersey
The path to Marotta's involvement wasn't quick. The Navy awarded L3Harris a $587.4 million contract for NGJ-LB engineering and manufacturing development in August 2024, but the program had experienced nearly four years of procurement delays after an initial 2020 award attempt was derailed by bid protests from competitor Northrop Grumman that were upheld by the Government Accountability Office, as detailed by Breaking Defense. The five-year contract calls for 11 pod simulators, eight operational prototype pods, and four jettison mass model pods, with early operational capability targeted for 2029, per Seapower Magazine.
L3Harris will also provide additional test assets for airworthiness and design verification, and will deliver operational prototype pods to Naval Air Systems Command for fleet assessment. The program is a joint cooperative acquisition between the U.S. Department of Defense and the Australian Department of Defence, since both nations' militaries fly the EA-18G Growler that will carry the new pods.
Marotta's Executive Sees a Foothold for Future Growth
Adit Girdhari of Marotta Controls said contributing to two separate subsystems on the same Navy electronic warfare platform is a testament to the company's technology development process. Girdhari also said electronic warfare is a growth area for Marotta and that the NGJ-LB program serves as a foundation for further growth in the sector, adding that Marotta will support L3Harris, CFD Research and the Navy as the system moves toward fleet deployment.
The award marks Marotta's entry into the airborne electronic warfare market and reflects the company's broader trajectory as what ROI-NJ describes as a rapidly growing aerospace and defense contractor. Founded in 1943 in Boonton and now based in Montville, the family-owned firm has grown from a basement machine shop into an employer of between 500 and 999 workers holding more than 200 patents, according to Marotta Controls. The company has previously supplied fluid control valve hardware for the 1947 Bell X-1 rocket that broke the sound barrier and for NASA's Saturn Apollo moon program.
Not Marotta's First Recognition This Year
The NGJ-LB contracts land as Marotta has also been recognized as a New Jersey Top Workplace for five consecutive years through 2026, based on statewide employee engagement surveys conducted by Energage and regional media outlets. That standing underscores the company's role as a major employer in Morris County even as it pushes into new defense technology sectors.
Marotta isn't the only Northeast contractor drawn into L3Harris's expanding NGJ-LB supply chain. In December 2024, L3Harris awarded New York-based CPI Aerostructures a $12.1 million contract to manufacture the physical pod structures for the program's prototype assets, according to CPI Aerostructures. For now, full fleet deployment of the NGJ-LB pod remains years off, with prototype testing and Navy evaluation extending toward that 2029 target for early operational capability.
