Northrop Grumman will build hundreds of active electronically scanned array radars for the F-16 fighter jet under a Dec. 19 contract worth more than $1 billion.
The contract covers work on up to 372 radars through May 2027. It modifies an earlier award to finalize the funding.
AESA radars like Northrop’s APG-83 are used to find and identify targets.
“The greater bandwidth, speed, and agility of AESA radars enable fighter and legacy aircraft to detect, track, and identify a greater [number] of targets, faster and at longer ranges, and to operate in hostile electronic environments,” according to Northrop.
The radar is a “fifth-generation fighter radar capability for the fourth-gen aircraft,” the company said.
“Building on Northrop Grumman’s 40-year legacy producing radars for the F-16, [the APG-83] integrates within the F-16’s current structural, power and cooling constraints without … aircraft modification,” Northrop said.