The AN/APG-81 is an

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)

fire-control radar A fire-control radar (FCR) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and range rate) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are someti ...

system designed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (formerly Westinghouse Electronic Systems) for the

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

. The AN/APG-81 is a successor radar to the F-22's AN/APG-77, and has an antenna composed of 1,200 transmit/receive modules.Over three thousand AN/APG-81 AESA radars are expected to be ordered for the F-35, with production to run beyond 2035, and including large quantities of international orders. The AN/APG-81 epitomizes the F-35's multirole mission requirement showcasing the robust electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and can operate as an EW aperture utilizing the AESA's multifunction array (MFA). Fully adept at electronic protection (EP), electronic attack (EA) and electronic support measures (ESM) it enables the F-35 the unparalleled capability to suppress and destroy the most advanced enemy air defenses. The Joint Strike Fighter AN/APG-81 AESA radar is a result of the US government's competition for the world's largest AESA acquisition contract. Westinghouse Electronic Systems (acquired by Northrop Grumman in 1996) and

Hughes Aircraft The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace company, aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes ...

(acquired by

Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

in 1997) received contracts for the development of the Multifunction Integrated RF System/Multifunction Array (MIRFS/MFA) in February 1996.

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 ...

and Northrop Grumman were selected as the winners of the

Joint Strike Fighter Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlan ...

competition; The System Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract was announced on 26 October 2001. Capabilities of the AN/APG-81 include the AN/APG-77's air-to-air modes, plus advanced air-to-ground modes, including high resolution mapping, multiple ground

moving target indication Moving target indication (MTI) is a mode of operation of a radar to discriminate a target against the clutter. It describes a variety of techniques used for finding moving objects, like an aircraft, and filter out unmoving ones, like hills or tree ...

and track, combat identification, electronic warfare, and ultra high bandwidth communications. The F-22 radar from Lot 5 aircraft onward is the APG-77(V)1, which draws heavily on APG-81 hardware and software for its advanced air-to-ground capabilities. In August 2005, the APG-81 radar was flown for the first time aboard Northrop Grumman's BAC 1–11 test aircraft. The radar system had accumulated over 300 flight hours by 2010. The first radar flight on Lockheed Martin's CATBird avionics test-bed occurred in November 2008. In June 2009, the F-35s APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar was integrated in the Northern Edge 2009 large-scale military exercise when it was mounted on the front of a Northrop Grumman test aircraft. The test events "validated years of laboratory testing versus a wide array of threat systems, showcasing the extremely robust electronic warfare capabilities of the world's most advanced fighter

." Announced on 22 June 2010: The radar met and exceeded its performance objectives successfully tracking long-range targets as part of the first mission systems test flights of the F-35 Lightning II BF-4 aircraft. The AN/APG-81 team won the 2010 David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award for performance against jammers. In January 2023 it was reported that the AN/APG-81 would be replaced by a new radar, the AN/APG-85 on Block 4 F-35s. The AN/APG-85 had been mentioned in a budgetary document in December 2022. 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-81''" designation represents the 81st 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.

References

External links

Northrop Grumman: APG-81Northrop Grumman YouTube channel's "APG-81 AESA Radar for the F-35 JSF" video
{{Northrop Grumman, state=autocollapse Aircraft radars Military radars of the United States Military electronics of the United States Northrop Grumman radars Radars of the United States Air Force Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

References

See also

External links