Boeing has begun laboratory tests on the first Raytheon APG-82 active electronically scanned array, before integrating the advanced radar on a US Air Force F-15E.
Raytheon on 10 June delivered to Boeing the first APG-82 ordered under the F-15E radar modernisation programme, which will upgrade about 225 F-15Es. These are expected to remain in service through at least 2035.
Boeing has not released a timeline for installing the AESA on the first aircraft, where it will replace the mechanically scanned APG-70 radar.
Redesignated the APG-82 late last year, the new sensor combines the back-end from the APG-79 already installed on the US Navy's Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets with a new front-end antenna for the F-15 fleet.
The radar upgrade is part of a series of capability improvements under way for the USAF's F-15E fleet, which also include the Vision Systems International Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System.
Boeing also has proposed a new package of upgrades for international F-15E Strike Eagles, which include treatments to reduce the aircraft's radar cross-section, a digital electronic warfare system, conformal weapons bay and large cockpit displays. So far, the USAF has not committed to buying the new upgrades for its aircraft.
Meanwhile, Raytheon is supplying the US Air National Guard with AESAs with tile-antennas for an increasing number of F-15Cs. The APG-63(V)3 is the latest version of AESA technology adopted by F-15Cs. The USAF also installed the APG-63(V)2 AESA with a "brick"-style antenna for 18 active duty F-15Cs.
Source: Flight International
