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Super Hornets begin flight testing AESA
radars
Aerospace Daily08/14/2003
The U.S. Navy has launched the flight test phase for Raytheon's new
APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, according
to an Aug. 13 announcement.
AESA is being tested on the program's first customer, Boeing's
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Naval Air Systems (NAVAIR) Command staged
the first flight of the advanced radar on July 30 after integrating
the system on the next-generation F/A-18.
"This is a major step toward making the F/A-18 all that we've
planned it to be," NAVAIR F/A-18 program manager Capt. B.D. Gaddis
said in a statement.
Boasting more than twice the detection range of current radars, the
APG-79 AESA is made of a number of solid-state transmit and receive
modules. Spin-offs of that technology are being used in the
Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program, which is
integrating various advanced radars into the F/A-22, the F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter and the E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control
Aircraft.
The radar improvements include increasing the range and resolution
of the aircraft's air-to-ground mapping system and improving
situational awareness in the cockpit.
The APG-79 is expected to be delivered to the F/A-18E/F Super
Hornet fleet by 2006, following the flight testing and operational
evaluation phases.
The Navy launched the program three years ago when Raytheon was
selected by Boeing to integrate the AESA design for the Super
Hornet fleet. The service plans to buy 411 systems for a lifetime
cost of about $1 billion.