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The Northrop Grumman-built beam radars have been integrated into the US National Guard’s F-16 aircraft.
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The US Air Force has officially completed installation of Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) on Air National Guard F-16s in line with the US Northern Command Joint Emergent Operational Need (JEON).
The upgrade is expected to extend the operational viability and reliability of the Air National Guard F-16s, while also providing pilots with fifth generation fighter radar capabilities.
“The completion of these deliveries highlights Northrop Grumman’s continued commitment to rapidly field fifth generation radar capability to the fleet to counter and defeat increasingly sophisticated threats to our nation and its allies,” Mark Rossi, director, SABR programs, Northrop Grumman, said.
“Through our continued partnership with the Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, we are providing enhanced radar capabilities with ongoing agile software developments that will keep pilots ahead of adversaries for years to come.”
As a result of the upgrades, 72 jets stationed at nine US Air National Guard bases are equipped with the new capability.
The APG-83 reportedly offers greater bandwidth, speed and agility, enabling the F-16 to detect, track and identify a greater number of targets faster and at longer ranges, in addition.
The capability features all-weather, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping to present the pilot with a large surface image for more precise target identification and strike compared to legacy systems.
Northrop Grumman was also recently awarded a contract for the continued preparation of the AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS) ahead of developmental test and full hardware qualification.
The hardware and software verification tests aim to ensure the system is ready for F-16 flights later this year.
Northrop Grumman is also expected to continue development of the infrastructure required to move the system to production once testing is complete.
[Related: Northrop Grumman secures F-16 electronic warfare contract ]
