The radar itself is a game changer. Switching from a mechanically scanned radar to AESA is ‘night and day’
It is known that the American company Lockheed Martin, in collaboration with the Hellenic Aviation Industry (EAB), jointly delivered the first two F-16 Viper fighters to the Air Force. The aircraft enable the Air Force to successfully address emerging threats in the region and operate as part of allied missions worldwide.
In particular, the main systems being upgraded as part of the program include the following:
F-16 upgrades are carried out at ODA under close technical guidance from Lockheed Martin teams.
The 480th Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Force Base, Germany, is now the first active F-16CM fighter squadron of the United States Air Force (USAF), bringing its fighter fleet into a new era of air superiority, with radar system upgrades AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) .
“Providing this capability to an already time- and combat-tested aircraft adds another layer to the U.S. Air Force’s capabilities in an ever-evolving electronic warfare environment,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. . CQ Brown.
This capability gives fourth-generation multi-role fighter aircraft a huge leap in combat capabilities, making pilots even more effective than ever before, while improving air defense and the aircraft’s overall survivability when facing enemy forces.
The radar itself is a game changer. The transition from a mechanically scanned radar to AESA is “night and day”.
Compared to its predecessor, the upgraded AESA systems have more transmitters, which allow for more accurate, longer-range and more jam-resistant scanning of the airspace.
Legacy radar systems have received many updates and software upgrades since they were first installed on the aircraft, but this project provides a completely new set of hardware with a wide range of advantages over its predecessor.
Additionally, this project works to improve pilots’ visibility in the battlespace, laying the groundwork for the aircraft’s targeting slot to stream high-definition video into the cockpit, an improvement over the smaller, lower-resolution displays before.
The AN/APG-83 features all-weather, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping to present the pilot with a large surface image for more accurate target identification and strikes compared to legacy systems.
Its design incorporates proven hardware and advanced modes of operation from Northrop Grumman’s fifth-generation F-35 and F-22 AESA radars. The high degree of community and shared manufacturing processes and infrastructure leads to efficiency and affordability improvements across Northrop Grumman’s AESA radar programs.
Recall that at the beginning of 2020, the Hellenic Air Force announced the start of the modernization program of the extensive F-16 fleet. Greece has awarded Lockheed Martin a US$280 million contract to upgrade the air force’s F-16C-52+ and F-16D-52+ fleet over the next seven years.
These F-16s will be upgraded to the Block 70/72 Viper configuration. Among other improvements, this includes an APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar that greatly enhances the aircraft’s ability to identify and engage enemy aircraft.
Additionally, the next-generation F-16 fighter will face future threats previously unimagined.
To meet the challenge, the Viper Shield digital warfare (EW) suite is custom designed to be a baseline on advanced F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft and maximize their survivability and mission success.
In collaboration with Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force, L3Harris is developing the new AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield to provide US allies with cutting-edge countermeasures against sophisticated, ever-changing threats.
This advanced EW system will provide a virtual electronic shield around the aircraft, allowing warplanes to safely complete missions in increasingly complex battlefield scenarios. Its modern, all-digital architecture using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology enables improved system performance, a smaller form factor, reduced weight and easier future upgrades.
The Advanced Digital Warning Radar Receiver (DRWR) seamlessly integrates with the aircraft’s new APG-83 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for greater situational awareness. The jamming system based on Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM), provides improved capability against advanced threats.
In conclusion, we should say that the APG-83, like all AESAs, are extremely resistant to jamming, as they need very strong ECMs to jam them. Finally, aircraft with AESA radar have a much smaller radar footprint than aircraft of the same type with conventional radar. That is, the F-16V will have a much smaller footprint than the F-16C/D. Apparently the PA made a checkmate move with the APG-83, and we hope to see it operational in the Aegean as soon as possible!
