F-16 AN/APG-83 SABR​ radar installations update

Installation of the AN/APG-83 SABR radar on US Air National Guard (ANG) F-16s at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is now complete, Northrop Grumman announced on 9 January.

The radar has been installed on select ANG F-16s to extend the operational viability and reliability of that fleet while providing pilots with 5th-generation fighter radar capabilities.

The APG-83 has greater bandwidth, speed and agility, enabling the F-16 to detect, track and identify a greater number of targets faster and at longer ranges. In addition, it features all-weather, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping to present the pilot with a large surface image for more precise target identification and strike compared to legacy systems.

Mark Rossi, director, SABR programs, Northrop Grumman, said: ‘The APG-83 radar provides unprecedented, active electronically scanned array (AESA) targeting and fire control capabilities to the F-16 fleet to ensure the superior effectiveness of the Air National Guard’s mission.

‘APG-83 was specifically designed to maximise the performance of the F-16 with an affordable and scalable architecture, based upon advancements made through the introduction of Northrop Grumman’s APG-77 AESA for the F-22 Raptor and APG-81 AESA for the F-35 Lightning II.’