ST. LOUIS, 2 Oct 2011.Airborne radar systems integrators at the Raytheon Co. Space and Airborne Systems segment in El Segundo, Calif., have received approval from the U.S. Air Force to work with the Boeing Co. Defense, Space & Security unit in St. Louis to begin to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the APG-82(V)1 radar system for the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle jet fighter-bomber as part of the F-15E's Radar Modernization Program (RMP).Boeing and Raytheon have performed extensive flight tests to validate the APG-82(V)1 radar system design for the F-15E. The APG-82(V)1 capitalizes on radar technology developed for the Boeing F-15C jet fighter and F/A-18E/F fighter-bomber aircraft to reduce cost and risk for this new radar, Boeing officials say.The APG-82(V)1 provides a more than twentyfold reliability improvement over the F-15E's relatively old APG-70 radar, Boeing officials say, by capitalizing on radar technologies developed for the APG-79 and APG-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars flying on the F/A-18E/F, the EA-18G, and the F-15C combat jets.
The APG-82(V)1 AESA radar enables aircraft to detect, identify, and track several different targets in the air and on the ground simultaneously at long ranges. Raytheon AESA radars can be upgraded easily upgraded to add future capabilities, Raytheon officials say.
Raytheon and Boeing experts are testing the F-15E RMP systems over a 14-month, 110-sortie program at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Boeing and Raytheon will verify that the system performance meets Air Force specifications.
Production of the first LRIP lot of six units is to begin this month, followed by production of 10 units in LRIP 2 and 17 units in LRIP 3, Boeing officials say. For more information contact Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems online at www.raytheon.com/businesses/rsas, or Boeing Defense, Space & Security at http://boeing.com/bds.
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