June 9 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman is to upgrade dozens of U.S. Air National Guard F-16s with APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar, the company announced this week.
The APG-83s will be the active electronically scanned array for 72 ANG F-16s to meet a U.S. 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," Bob Gough, vice president of combat avionics systems at Northrop Grumman, said in a press release. "The APG-83 SABR system is in full rate production and available now for U.S. and international F-16 upgrades."
With Northrop's upgraded radar, the F-16s will have 5th generation capabilities -- including greater bandwidth, speed, and agility -- to detect, track and identify greater numbers of targets faster and at longer ranges.
The upgrade contract from the Air Force carries a value of $243.8 million.
