Raytheon contracted for F/A-18 Hornet radars

Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Raytheon has received a $35.5 million order for spare parts in support of the APG-79 Radar System. The contract will last for three years with no options.

Work on the order, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in California and is expected to be completed by July 2021.

The AN/APG-79 uses active electronic beam scanning that improves situational awareness and air-to-air and air-to-surface capability for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, standard Hornet and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. The system is in use by the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force.

The system allows the multimode radar to use multiple bands in near-unison. It is composed of many commercial off-the-shelf parts and has completely solid-state components.

AN/APG-79 allows the F/A-18 to fire multiple AMRAAM radar-guided missiles against several aerial targets at once. It began testing in 2006 and is expected to be installed on the entire F/A-18 and EA-18 fleets.

The F/A-18 Hornet is the primary carrier- and land-based multi-role fighter of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, as well as the Royal Australian Air Force. It has been widely exported and is expected to serve for decades to come alongside the F-35 Lightning II. The E/A-18G Growler is an electronic warfare jamming and anti-radar variant of the series.