Northrop Grumman has been selected by the US Air Force (USAF) to upgrade radars for Air National Guard’s F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft fleet.

The company said it will provide its APG-83 scalable agile beam radar (SABR) to enhance 72 F-16s to meet a US Northern Command Joint Emergent Operational Need for homeland defence.

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The radar upgrade is expected to extend the operational viability and reliability of the aircraft and provides pilots with fifth-generation fighter radar capabilities to counter and defeat increasingly sophisticated threats, Northrop stated.

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

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

"The radar upgrade is expected to extend the operational viability and reliability of the aircraft and provides pilots with fifth-generation fighter radar capabilities to counter and defeat increasingly sophisticated threats."

With greater bandwidth and speed, Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 SABR allows the F-16 to detect, track and identify more targets faster and at longer ranges.

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

The APG-83 SABR has also been selected by a growing number of international customers and is the base radar for Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70, according to the company.

Equipped with a Sniper advanced targeting pod, advanced weapons, precision GPS navigation and auto ground collision avoidance system, the 49.3ft-long F-16 can travel at a speed of 1,500mph.

Image: Northrop to upgrade radars for Air National Guard’s F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft fleet. Photo: courtesy of Northrop Grumman Corporation.

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