Navy aircraft to get radar upgrade
Raytheon to retrofit Super Hornet aircraft with active electronically scanned array radars
The Navy has awarded Raytheon Co. a $54 million contract to retrofit Super Hornet aircraft with APG-79 active electronically scanned array radars.
The award from the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., calls for Raytheon to replace the current APG-73 radar systems with APG-79 AESA radars in an undisclosed number of the F/A-18E/F aircraft. The new units will ensure that pilots and aircrews are equipped with the most advanced technology available, company officials said.
“The added reliability and maintainability of the APG-79 result in lower life-cycle costs and enhanced capabilities for the Navy,” said Tom Kennedy, vice president for Tactical Airborne Systems at Raytheon.
Raytheon, of Waltham, Mass., has delivered 134 AESA radars to the Navy for the Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft. With this latest contract, the retrofit orders total 38.
Work on the retrofit program, expected to be completed in December 2010, will be performed at Forest, Miss.; Dallas; El Segundo, Calif., and Andover, Mass.
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David Hubler is senior editor of Washington Technology. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidHubler.