The AN/APG-79 is a type of

active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled antenna array in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the a ...

(AESA) radar that was developed for use on the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twinjet, twin-engine, Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Ho ...

and

Boeing EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States N ...

aircraft. The radar's AESA technology provides quick updates on multiple targets, and its solid-state antenna construction makes it more reliable and cost-effective than traditional radar systems. The radar has a range of up to 150 km (80 nm) and can track multiple targets simultaneously. It is capable of firing weapons such as the

AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) ( ) is an American Beyond-visual-range missile, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It uses active transmit-receive radar guidance ...

's D model and guiding multiple missiles to targets located at varying distances and directions. As of July 2008, 100 APG-79 sets had been delivered to the United States Navy, and the Navy expects to order around 437 production radars. In January 2013, the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) disclosed some issues with the APG-79 radar during its initial operational testing, but upgrades have been made over time. 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-79''" designation represents the 79th 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.

Variants

AN/APG-79(V)4

The AN/APG-79(V)4 has been selected for retrofitting the F/A-18C/D and upgrading the fleets of F/A-18 fighters in Canada,https://skiesmag.com/news/l3harris-delivers-first-aircraft-hornet-extension-project/ Malaysia and the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. the APG-79(V)4 is the first U.S. fighter radar to use

gallium nitride Gallium nitride () is a binary III/ V direct bandgap semiconductor commonly used in blue light-emitting diodes since the 1990s. The compound is a very hard material that has a Wurtzite crystal structure. Its wide band gap of 3.4 eV af ...

(GaN) transmit/receive modules.

References

{{Raytheon, state=collapsed Aircraft radars Military electronics of the United States Military radars of the United States Radars of the United States Air Force Raytheon Company products Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

Variants

AN/APG-79(V)4

See also

References