Skip to main content

Raytheon Eyes International Contract Award for its F-16 AESA Radar

EL SEGUNDO, Ca: Raytheon Company moved closer to its first international sale of RACR (Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar) following approval for the company to move forward with technical discussions with at least two potential customers.



Both countries are looking to upgrade their F-16 fleets within the next two years in order to keep their force structure at the cutting edge of today's complex battlespace. RACR is designed for all F-16s and is approved for export.
The program is on schedule to fly production hardware on an F-16 during the first half of 2010.
"RACR continues to exceed expectations in meeting key production and integration milestones and has just wrapped up a series of validation tests at Lockheed Martin's system integration laboratory," said Dr. Tom Kennedy, vice president of the Tactical Airborne Systems business division.
The program demonstrated various radar capabilities in both air-to-air and air-to-ground modes as well as integration with Raytheon's F-16 center pedestal display. The new color display allows pilots to conduct simultaneous operations and provides a clearer picture of the overall battlespace.
"RACR has 90 percent software and hardware commonality with our combat-proven AESA radar for the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Several U.S. Navy squadrons are already operational in theater with this technology today, while the Royal Australian Air Force is also in flight training with our AESA radar system. This active production line allows us to provide F-16 customers with a high-performing, affordable but low-risk solution while also addressing obsolescence challenges they currently face with mechanical scanned radars," added Kennedy.
Within the past year Raytheon has also installed the RACR radar twice on F-16s at both Lockheed Martin and Edwards Air Force Base. The seamless installation process demonstrated Raytheon's proven modular radar design resulting in an easy upgrade path for customers who need AESA radar capability.
"Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have worked together nearly six years to develop RACR for F-16s in order to meet our customer requirements," said Brian MacDonald, RACR program manager. "The F-16 is an outstanding tactical aircraft, and we recognize the need to support our customers, keeping them relevant in the changing battlespace of today and the future."
RACR is a program in Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business. With 2008 revenues of $4.4 billion, 12,000 employees and headquarters in El Segundo, SAS is a leading supplier of sensor systems that provide actionable information for the network-centric battlefield.
Raytheon Company, with 2008 sales of $23.2 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 73,000 people worldwide.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pakistani JF-17 A Thunder OR A Blunder

Pakistan has witnessed new defense acquisitions in this decade than any other, and in the center of it all is the new fighter which was designed by China with partial funding from Pakistan. It is formally known as JF-17 Thunder. When the fighter was in development, Pakistani online communities were jumping with excitement comparing it with its arch rival India’s modern combatants Su-30MKI, Mig-29S & Mirage-2000H. There were claims of it featuring western Radars and long range missiles, & Chinese ordering some due to its superior capabilities. But the reality is far from it. China having spent significant amount of money into a fighter which it is never going to use, most probably forced Pakistan to accept its avionics to offset some its development costs. Chinese who are known for their self reliance first and quality next, are further downgrading JF-17s capabilities with their poorly copy-pirated avionics. Along with their dubious weapons, any chance of JF...
48 comments
READ MORE

India Planned Attack On Pak Navy Mehran Base To Kill Chinese Engineers

The terrorist attack on Karachi's Mehran Naval Station on May 22 was conceived and launched by India with the primary objective of killing the Chinese engineers present there, a Pakistani newspaper has claimed, citing 'informed sources'. Four to six Taliban terrorists had entered PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two maritime surveillance aircraft and killing ten military personnel during their 17-hour siege of the naval air base. "India is the only country in the region that feels troubled by the Pakistan Navy, which had awfully beaten the Indian Navy in Operation Dwarka of 1965. Since then, it has been an earnest desire of India to harm the Pakistan Navy but it was perhaps not possible on the battle front, hence it struck the PNS Mehran," The News quoted sources as saying.
23 comments
READ MORE

Pakistani F-16s Shoot Down RAF Eurofighter Typhoons During Air Combat Exercises In Turkey

Pakistani pilots flying modernised versions of the 1970s-vintage F-16 Falcon fighter have beaten the RAF's brand-new Eurofighter Typhoon superfighters during air combat exercises in Turkey, according to a Pakistani officer. Analysis: The RAF Typhoon, formerly known as the Eurofighter, should nonetheless have been vastly superior in air-to-air combat whether BVR or close in within visual range (WVR). The cripplingly expensive, long-delayed Eurofighter was specifically designed to address the defects of its predecessor the Tornado F3 – famously almost useless in close-in, dogfighting-style air combat. The Typhoon was meant to see off such deadly in-close threats as Soviet "Fulcrums" and "Flankers" using short-range missiles fired using helmet-mounted sight systems: such planes were thought well able to beat not just Tornados but F-16s in close fighting, and this expectation was borne out after the Cold War when the Luftwaffe inherite...
18 comments
READ MORE