The US Air Force is to equip a squadron of Boeing F-15Cs with a secretly developed active-array radar to gain operational experience with the technology before the Lockheed Martin/ Boeing F-22 Raptor enters service.
"The number of aircraft to have the radar is limited by funding," says USAF F-15 system programme office director Col Scott Britten. "It's enough to prove the concept, generate tactics and build confidence in the technology."
The Raytheon APG-63(V)2 radar is a development of the upgraded APG-63(V)1 now in operational testing and being retrofitted to USAF F-15Cs. While the (V)1 upgrade replaces the APG-63's processor, receiver/exciter and other electronics to improve supportability, the (V)2 replaces the original mechanically scanned antenna with an active electronic scanned array (AESA).
Advantages of the active array include longer detection range and multi-target tracking capability, says Britten. He plays down reports that the modified F-15s will be used for cruise missile defence, adding: "We will look at the benefits in all domains, against targets of all classes."
The F-15 will be the first fighter to enter service with an AESA when 18 aircraft at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, are fitted with the new radar at the end of 2000.
So far, one aircraft has been modified for development and operational utility testing, accumulating 320h of failure-free use - 165h in the air. More testing in January will include development of tactics exploiting the radar's unique capabilities, says Britten.
Development and production of the (V)2 radars will be relatively inexpensive at $277 million, he says, because it builds on the (V)1 programme. More F-15s may be upgraded, depending on a retirement plan being drawn up. Procurement cuts mean the USAF will have to keep some in service to complement F-22s.
Although the availability of an AESA is expected to stimulate export interest in the F-15, "the radar is not releasable yet", adds Britten.
Source: Flight International
