Singapore is set to be only the second international customer to receive the Longbow millimetric wave radar for the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter.
In a $25.9-million contract, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are to outfit the Republic of Singapore's AH-64Ds as they are delivered from 2002 onwards.
"The selection of the Longbow radar by Singapore clearly demonstrates its confidence in the ability of the radar system to enhance both the overall mission effectiveness and survivability of the AH-64D helicopter," says William H Forster, vice-president of Northrop Grumman's Land Combat Systems business unit.
The radar offers high performance with very low probability of intercept. It automatically searches, detects, locates, classifies and prioritises multiple moving and stationary targets on land, air and water in clear and adverse weather and in battlefield obscurants, says Northrop Grumman.
"As the first Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract for the Longbow radar, our definitive contract with the US Army to deliver radar systems to the government of Singapore represents a significant milestone in the Longbow programme," says Richard Russell, president of the Longbow joint venture between the two companies.
"We anticipate additional FMS orders this year, as well as new FMS and commercial customers over the next several years."
Source: Flight Daily News
