The AN/APG-67 is a multi-mode all-digital

X band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0–11.2&nbs ...

coherent

pulse doppler radar A pulse-Doppler radar is a radar system that determines the range to a target using pulse-timing techniques, and uses the Doppler effect of the returned signal to determine the target object's velocity. It combines the features of pulse radars and ...

originally developed by

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

for the

Northrop F-20 Tigershark The Northrop F-20 Tigershark (initially F-5G) is a prototype light fighter, designed and built by Northrop Corporation, Northrop. Its development began in 1975 as a further evolution of Northrop's Northrop F-5, F-5E Tiger II, featuring a new ...

program of the early 1980s. It offers a variety of air-to-air, air-to-ground, sea-search and mapping modes, and compatibility with most weapons used by the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in the 1980s. When the F-20 project ended in the mid-1980s and no other U.S. sales were immediately forthcoming, GE sold off its radar division. It eventually became part of

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

, which sells the APG-67 for use on

light fighter A light fighter or lightweight fighter is a fighter aircraft towards the low end of the practical range of weight, cost, and complexity over which fighters are fielded. The light or lightweight fighter retains carefully selected competitive fea ...

s and

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

. It has been selected for the

AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo The AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo (), commonly known as the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), is a multirole combat aircraft named after Chiang Ching-kuo, the late President of the Republic of China. The aircraft made its first flight in 1989. It ente ...

of Taiwan, and the Korean FA-50 fighter variant of the

T-50 Golden Eagle The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle () is the first South Korean supersonic advanced jet trainer, light combat aircraft, and light strike-fighter developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with Lockheed Martin. It is South Korea's first indigenous ...

. In accordance with the

Joint Electronics Type Designation System The Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System (AN System. JAN) and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Depa ...

(JETDS), the "''AN/APG-67''" designation represents the 67th design of an Army-Navy airborne electronic device for

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

fire-control A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a Director (military), director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs th ...

equipment. The JETDS system also now is used to name all

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

electronic systems.

Description

The APG-67 is a modern radar featuring a planar

phased array In antenna (radio), antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically scanned array, a computer-controlled Antenna array, array of antennas which creates a radio beam, beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point ...

antenna and simplified electronics housed in three

line-replaceable unit A line-replaceable unit (LRU), lower line-replaceable unit (LLRU), line-replaceable component (LRC), or line-replaceable item (LRI) is a modular component of an airplane, ship or spacecraft (or any other manufactured device) that is designed to b ...

s, one of these being the radar "dish" itself. The entire system weighs less than and takes up less than . All communications with the cockpit is handled using the

MIL-STD-1553 MIL-STD-1553 is a military standard published by the United States Department of Defense that defines the mechanical, electrical, and functional characteristics of a serial data bus. It was originally designed as an avionic data bus for use w ...

data bus; the data bus allows the data from any of the aircraft's sensors to be shown on any of the in-cockpit displays, or sent to other aircraft using a

data link A data link is a means of telecommunications link, connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a t ...

. The system broadcasts an average power of 396 watts, allowing it to detect fighter-sized targets at up to in tracking modes, and up to in velocity search. In the air-to-air mode it offers long-range velocity search, track-while-scan with up to ten tracked targets, and a variety of single-target-track and auto-lockon "dogfight" modes. It has a variety of pulse repetition frequencies that are automatically selected depending on whether or not the antenna is looking up or down."APG-67 Multimode Radar"
, ''B0201-APG-67 (SA)'', Lockheed Martin, March 2004 The APG-67 also includes a variety of air-to-ground modes including real beam ground mapping,

synthetic aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or 3D reconstruction, three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target regi ...

imaging (SAR) and beacon tracking. It can also search for moving targets on the ground and offers tracking modes for ground targets similar to those for air-to-air use. These modes can also be used for sea-surface-search, in which case the display is de-cluttered to remove waves. The SAR mode is an optional add-on to the basic system.

History

For many years Northrop had worked with

Emerson Electric Emerson Electric Co. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The Fortune 500 company delivers a range of engineering services, manufactures industrial automation equipment, climate control systems, and p ...

to provide a series of radars for their F-5 series. The original F-5A/B was designed as a light strike aircraft and had only a rudimentary ranging radar for the gunsight, and very little room in the nose for anything else. When the F-5 airframe was adapted into the F-5E/F for the air-to-air role, Emerson designed the AN/APQ-153 to fit into the extremely limited space in the F-5's nose. The small space and severe weight limitations meant that the APQ-153 could offer only the most basic features, including basic single-target-track and a scanning mode with a range about . A further upgrade produced the AN/APQ-159, which offered longer range of about , as well as offering a number of practical improvements like wider scanning angles and improved reliability. When Northrop started work on the latest member of the F-5 family, then known as the F-5G, Emerson was initially selected to produce a version of the APQ-159 with the capability of firing the

AIM-7 Sparrow The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and various other air forces and navies. Sp ...

missile at

beyond visual range A beyond-visual-range missile (BVR missile) or beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) is an air-to-air missile that is capable of engaging at ranges around or beyond. This range has been achieved using dual pulse rocket motors or ...

. However, as the project was repeatedly re-positioned during the late 1970s, Northrop developed the requirement for a much more capable design, able to support both air-to-air and air-to-ground modes like the radars being used in modern designs like the

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

. Emerson's earlier designs were all analog systems so they were not a "shoe in" for the digital system Northrop was looking for, and they threw open the competition to anyone with a suitable design. Several proposals were returned, and General Electric eventually won the contract.Mark Wade,
F-20 Tigershark AN/APG-67(V) Radar
, F-20A Tigershark Home Page, 1997

Description

History

References

See also