USAF orders extra SABR AESA radars for F-16s
Northrop Grumman is to produce 31 more AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) AESA radars for USAF F-16 fighter aircraft under an $88.24 million contract modification from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.
Work is expected to be completed by late July 2025, the DoD announced on 22 July.
The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the SABR contract for Northrop Grumman to almost $1.22 billion.
The original seven-year deal was awarded in May 2017.
AN/APG-83 is a programme of record for active-duty and reserve USAF units as well as the Air National Guard (ANG). The system 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.
As well as SABR, Northrop Grumman is also equipping USAF Reserve and ANG F-16s with the AN/ASQ-236 Dragon’s Eye AESA pod.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the AN/ASQ-236 synthetic aperture radar pod can be used to assist cartography, generate bomb damage assessments and perform general day and night surveillance.
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