Article Posted on : - Nov 05, 2010

US Air Force F-15C aircraft

EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA (BNS): The US Air Force has upgraded ten of its F-15C aircraft with Raytheon’s APG-63(V) 3 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar.

Raytheon said the installation and acceptance testing of the radar has been completed and four of the aircraft were shifted from Langley Air Force Base to Kadena Air Base in Japan.

"This advanced radar technology upgrade brings a robust and affordable high-performance AESA to the F-15C air-to-air variant," said Steve Schwarzkopf, director and general manager, Raytheon F-15 programs.

"The US Air Force aircraft equipped with the APG-63(V) 3 radar will continue to protect the warfighter at home and abroad," he said.

The APG-63(V) 3 will give the US Air Force's F-15 variant an affordable, high-performance AESA radar system that combines elements of Raytheon's proven APG-63(V) 2 and APG-79 AESA radar technology. It is all weather, multimode radar that delivers superior situational awareness, according to Raytheon.

The first Air Force F-15s became operational with the world's first tactical AESA radar system in December 2000.

Raytheon designed and developed the technology and has been a partner on the F-15 program for more than 35 years.