Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are going head-to-head with active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar programs to update F-16 fighters and other fighters around the world. Northrop Grumman announced yesterday that it now has U.S. State Department licenses to talk to a number of export customers at DSP-5 level, a status that Raytheon announced for its proposals in November.
The RACR (Raytheon advanced combat radar) draws on the company’s experience of providing AESA radars for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15 Eagle, while the credentials for Northrop Grumman’s SABR (scalable agile beam radar) come from providing e-scan sensors for the F-22, F-35 and F-16 Block 60. Northrop Grumman is also the incumbent mechanically scanned array (MSA) radar provider for the F-16, but Raytheon also boasts close involvement in the F-16 program as the main mission computer supplier.
