Guy Norris / Los Angeles
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| Tests on the APG-63(V)3 aboard the 727 will continue until late July |
Flight tests of Raytheon’s APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the Boeing F-15 have begun, with the system having accomplished four sorties by 15 May mounted on Raytheon’s modified Boeing 727 testbed.
Tests are expected to continue until late July. Then the radar will be installed by Boeing on an F-15C for flight tests at Eglin AFB, Florida from September. The “modes are performing well, with a few minor fixes to work on”, says F-15 radar programme business development director Arnie Victor.
The (V)3 AESA radar is currently destined to equip Air National Guard (ANG)-operated F-15Cs and Singapore’s 12 F-15SGs, but Raytheon hopes the advanced sensor could also be used to upgrade those US Air Force F-15C/Ds to be retained for long-term service.
Eighteen Alaska-based F-15s have operated for several years with the APG-63(V)2 radar, which combines (V)1 hardware with the AESA antenna to provide enhanced cruise missile defence capabilities. Its highly agile beam and enhanced multi-target tracking capability also enables F-15C pilots to use the full capabilities of weapons such as Raytheon’s AIM-120 AMRAAM, simultaneously guiding multiple missiles to dispersed targets.
Raytheon is also starting production and development of the (V)3 AESA for F-15SG deliveries to Singapore from late 2008. The AESA upgrade remains an option for (V)1 systems, with Japan and South Korea cited as potential future customers.
The success of the (V)3 flight tests at Eglin could also give Raytheon a leg-up in a forthcoming USAF contest to upgrade the F-15E’s APG-70 radar, which the service says will “lay the groundwork for future network-centric warfare requirements”. A request for proposals is expected in October, with a decision in 2007.
Source: Flight International
