Northrop Grumman To Modernize US F-16 Fighter Jets With APG-83 AESA Radar

The United States Air Force has choosen Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) active electronically scanned array (AESA) to modernize 72 Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcons.

The company will modernize 72 US Air National Guard F-16s to meet a US Northern Command Joint Emergent Operational Need for homeland defense.

“AESA radar upgrades are critically important to give the F-16 community, the tactical advantage it deserves, and we are honored to provide this differentiating technology for the safety and mission effectiveness of our warfighters,” said Bob Gough, vice president, combat avionics systems, Northrop Grumman.

“The APG-83 SABR system is in full rate production and available now for US and international F-16 upgrades.” Gough added.

The radar upgrade extends the operational viability and reliability of the F-16 and provides pilots with 5th generation fighter radar capabilities to counter and defeat increasingly sophisticated threats.

The greater bandwidth, speed, and agility of Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 SABR enables the F-16 to detect, track and identify greater numbers of targets faster and at longer ranges.

In addition, the radar can operate in hostile electronic environments and features all-weather, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping, which presents the pilot with a large surface image enabling precision target identification and strike.

The APG-83 SABR is the base radar for Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70. Northrop Grumman began delivering production APG-83 radars for its first international customer on schedule at the end of 2016.