Northrop Grumman's new APG-68(V)XM fire-control radar is to be the basis of an avionics retrofit kit to upgrade existing Lockheed Martin F-16C/D, according to plans disclosed yesterday (Tuesday) at Farnborough by the company's Electronic Sensors & Systems Sector. Initial APG-68 radars with non-targeting SAR were introduced in Block 40/42 F-16C/Ds from 1998, and are in current Block 50 versions.
Northrop Grumman now plans to adapt parts of the APG-68(V)XM technologies to allow addition of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability to earlier F-16A/Bs, fitted with APG-66 fire-control systems.

"One of the most significant APG-68(V)XM developments is a high resolution SAR mode that will provide an all-weather, precision air-to-ground delivery capability for F-16C/Ds," said Northrop Grumman F-16 radar programs director George Perry.
"The APG-68(V)XM will also provide a significant improvement in all-aspect air-to-air detection capability, and improved situational awareness, compared to earlier versions of the radar," he said.

With two new open-architecture line-replaceable units, a new modular receiver/exciter replacing the existing low-power radio frequency unit, and a new common radar processor in place of the programmable signal processor, it is now feasible to incorporate SAR capability into the earlier APG-66, Perry said. In the past 25 years, Northrop Grumman has delivered more than 6,000 F-16 APG-66/68 radars, and claims the latter version is the most reliable airborne fire-control system ever built.

In addition to the APG-68, new Northrop Grumman radar programs include its Agile Beam radar development, featuring electronic scanning for Block 60 F-16s; the APG-66-based APN-241 tactical radar for the USAF's Lockheed C-130X avionics modernization program (AMP); the APQ-164 for the Boeing B-1; APG-77 for the Lockheed Martin F-22; and the new and so far unnamed unit for the JSF.

By John Fricker