Raytheon says RACR on schedule

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. company Raytheon announced it next-generation F-16 fighter aircraft combat radar program is on schedule.

Raytheon has received approval to advance technical discussions on its Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar with two undisclosed countries that officials say are interested in upgrading their F-16 aircraft fleets.

Raytheon says its RACR has successfully demonstrated air-to-air and air-to-ground radar modes among other milestones, keeping the program on schedule to "fly production hardware on an F-16 during the first half of 2010," a release said.

"RACR continues to exceed expectations in meeting key production and integration milestones and has just wrapped up a series of validation tests at Lockheed Martin's system integration laboratory," Tom Kennedy, Raytheon Tactical Airborne Systems business division vice president, said in a statement.