Sep 18, 2008
By Graham Warwick/ Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
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 the rival Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR) is in laboratory testing.
Both companies hope to flight-test their active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars 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., Program Manager Dave Wallace says. 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 test bed, 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 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 test bed, 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," Wallace says, referencing the latest APG-68(V)9 version of Northrop's existing F-16 radar. "You have to look at the whole lifecycle cost," Raytheon says when asked about pricing for the RACR.
Northrop plans to complete initial development of the radar by year's 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.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gener...s/aesa9188.xml
Me pregunto si los israelista pondran estos radares en sus f 16 I
By Graham Warwick/ Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
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 the rival Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR) is in laboratory testing.
Both companies hope to flight-test their active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars 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., Program Manager Dave Wallace says. 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 test bed, 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 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 test bed, 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," Wallace says, referencing the latest APG-68(V)9 version of Northrop's existing F-16 radar. "You have to look at the whole lifecycle cost," Raytheon says when asked about pricing for the RACR.
Northrop plans to complete initial development of the radar by year's 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.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gener...s/aesa9188.xml
Me pregunto si los israelista pondran estos radares en sus f 16 I
