FIAR's New Grifo 2000 Radar Targets Early F-16s

A large-scale market of possibly a thousand or more early General Dynamics F-16A/Bs is being sought by the FIAR subsidiary of Galileo Avionica with its new Grifo 2000 fire-control radar, on show at Asian Aerospace for the first time. FIAR's new Grifo has been developed from a long line of low-cost high-capability pulse-Doppler Grifo variants since the mid-1980s. Their modular design simplified systems integration, and over 350 Grifos have been sold for retrofit upgrades of such aircraft as Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5Es, and Chengdu F-7Ps. They have also been sold for new aircraft installations, as in the Czech air force's Aero L-159.

Grifo 2000 has been specifically designed and tailored to replace the original APG-66 radar in F-16A/Bs, with minimum modifications. This obviates changes in radome shape and size, as well as interfaces, and component stowage space, while incorporating state-of-the-art technologies and performance. Full interchangeability and pin-to-pin compatibility with the APG-66 radar at LRU level is ensured by the Grifo 2000's similar weight, cooling system and cockpit controls.

New features include a powerful 500 watt transmitter to increase detection ranges, four receiver/processor channels, an open architecture 25-mode processor, and high-resolution spotlight synthetic aperture radar. Grifo 2000 also incorporates enhanced air-to-air track-while-scan through 60 degrees each way in azimuth and elevation,, and modern beyond-visual-range AAM capabilities, plus sensor fusion with infra-red search and track systems. It has also been designed with easy transition to an electronic scanning antenna in mind.

Flight development of the Grifo 2000 is planned to start in an F-16 before the year-end, in response to USAF interest in a low-cost high-performance radar to equip its Fighting Falcons for adversary training. Singapore's F-16A/Bs are also an early target for Grifo 2000 marketing, as an option for STAe's Falcon One upgrade proposals, being made jointly with BAE Systems, and exhibited at Asian Aerospace. The related Grifo 7MG is also a candidate to equip the Pakistan air force's new cranked-wing F-7MPs, while FIAR is offering Grifo Super 7 and MK II developments of the same radar to China for possible installation in AF/PLA J-7E, J-8 and J-10 combat aircraft.

By John Fricker