SABR AESA radar to undergo flight tests

U.S. Air Force Photo Airmen and Technicians at the U.S. Air Force 416th Flight Test Squadron based at Edwards AFB, California are prepa...

U.S. Air Force Photo

Airmen and Technicians at the U.S. Air Force 416th Flight Test Squadron based at Edwards AFB, California are preparing to conduct the testing of new Northrop Grumman developed SABR Active Electronically Scanned Array radar.

The test, part of the F-16 Radar Modernization Program, will be carried out on two F-16 fighter from the 412th Test Wing from Sept 2015 through Aug 2016.

The SABR AESA has been selected by Taiwan to upgrade its F-16 fighter fleet, as a part of the F-16 Phoenix Rising project, slated to begin at the end of 2015.

The test program will consist of a Design Try-Out to help develop radar modes of the SABR and to evaluate the AN/APG-83 radar performance specified in the contract prior to integration efforts by Lockheed Martin.

The new radar will replace the current APG-68 mechanically-scan radars that have limited target handling capacity because as existing mechanical scanning methods are inherently slow and require large amounts of power in order to respond rapidly enough to deal with large numbers of high-speed maneuvering targets.

The F-16 RMP is a risk mitigation effort designed to deliver fully-developed AESA radars for integration on Foreign Military Sales and U.S. Air Force F-16 aircraft. AESA radars are known for their superior capability than current operational radars.

In a mechanically-scanned systems, antenna inertia and inflexibility prevent employment of optimum radar beam positioning patterns that can reduce reaction times and increase target capacity. Whereas in a electronically scanned  AESA, the radar beams are positioned almost instantaneously and completely without the inertia, time lags and vibration of mechanical [radar] systems.

Additionally, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics selected Northrop Grumman to provide their Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR: AN/APG-83 Fire Control Radar) as contractor furnished equipment for Foreign Military Sales and potentially USAF F-16 modernization programs.

Northrop delivered the first EMD phase SABR radar to Lockheed Martin in last December.

Currently, no USAF F-16 aircraft programs have been identified to receive AESA radar upgrades.