Retrofit AESAs Set For F-16 Tests Next YearSep 16, 2008
By Graham Warwick graham_warwick@aviationweek.com
Northrop Grumman plans to begin rooftop testing next week of the Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) under company-funded development for retrofit into the Lockheed Martin F-16 while rival Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR) is in laboratory testing.
Both companies hope to flight test their active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) in the F-16 in 2009.
The SABR panel array and receiver/exciter/processor line-replaceable units will be tested on a system bench on the roof of Northrop's plant in Baltimore, Md., says program manager Dave Wallace. Aircraft flying in and out of the neighboring international airport will be used as targets.
Flight tests are to begin in November with the radar installed in Northrop's Sabreliner testbed, which is fitted with a complete F-16 nose, including radome. At the same time, Wallace says, the company is talking to Lockheed and potential customers to secure access to an F-16 for flight tests. "We're talking to three or four sources," Wallace says, adding that, although interest in the SABR is coming from international operators, the flight tests would be conducted on a U.S.-based F-16 to avoid export-release issues.
Northrop will pay for safety-of-flight qualification of the SABR on the F-16, "and we feel we will probably pay for the flight demonstration", Wallace says.
Raytheon says it does not plan to fly the RACR first on a surrogate testbed, because of the radar's commonality with the APG-79 AESA already operational in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Instead the company says its preference is to move directly to flight demonstration in an F-16.
Both the SABR and RACR are intended as direct replacements for the existing mechanically scanned Northrop radars in the F-16A/B and C/D. The AESA upgrade will provide interleaved air-to-air and air-to-ground operation with increased range and resolution and improved reliability.
The SABR is a retrofit kit that can be installed in the field, staying within the available weight, space, power and cooling and using the existing radome. "We plan to offer it for a mechanically scanned price," says Wallace, referencing the latest APG-68(V)9 version of Northrop's existing F-16 radar. "You have to look at the whole lifecycle cost," says Raytheon when asked about pricing for the RACR.
Northrop plans to complete initial development of the radar by year end, then begin working with customers on their specific requirements. "The closer they are to the development radar, the quicker it will be available," he says. Raytheon is working on a similar timeline.
Photo: Northrop Grumman
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