Actually IIRC Israeli wanted their EL/M-2052 ASEA radar to be
installed in their new F-16I (Israeli Blk52+) at the production
line, but the US govt and the manufacturer do not allow it.
In fact, US has stated that new a/c purchased from them must be
installed with their radar, if the user later want to installed a
non US radar, the manufacturer will not provide any technical
support.
Not on U.S. fighters
As for potential customers of the new radar, industry officials
acknowledged that U.S. government restrictions prevent Elta or its
parent company, Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd., from integrating
the new radar in U.S. F-16 and F-15 fighters flown by the Israel
Air Force. Similarly, the planned U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is
not a candidate for the EL/M 2052, since the Pentagon is insisting
that only a home-grown U.S. radar will be offered with the new
aircraft.
Livnat said Eltas principal focus for the EL/M 2052 is the
international fighter upgrade market. He noted that preliminary
market forecasts indicate that hundreds of fighter platforms could
be made available for significant upgrades over the next 10
years.
However, Livnat emphasized that Elta is just now beginning to
market the new radar, and therefore has no specific customer nation
or fighter aircraft within its grasp.
We dont want to rule out any platform, since we have experience
in adapting our radars to many different platforms. It all depends
on the countries that may choose to upgrade existing fleets for the
air superiority and advanced strike role instead of purchasing new
aircraft, he said.
When asked about the new Elta radar, a senior executive from
Lockheed Martin, prime contractor for the F-16 as well as the
planned F-35, insisted that Elta would not be able to offer the
EL/M 2052 on any American aircraft without the express approval of
U.S. airframe manufacturers and the U.S. government.
Interviewed during a visit to Israel on March 28, the Lockheed
Martin executive said: The Israelis cant add a radar to their own
F-16s or any F-16s on the market, for that matter, without
permission from Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government. Without
approval to provide the software interface, those aircraft cannot
be supported
and I seriously doubt that there will be a change in
U.S. policy regarding software source codes anytime in the
foreseeable future.
http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2005/05/first-israeli-designed-aesa-radar.html
So unless IAF has by-pass the s/w codes, then RSAF is not buying
them for our F-16.
