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Air Force

APG-85 Radar in LRIP, Northrop Grumman Says; F-35 Program Declines Comment

Frank Wolfe

Monday, August 3rd, 2026

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APG-85 Radar in LRIP, Northrop Grumman Says; F-35 Program Declines Comment

Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of an F-35A at Hill AFB, Utah in March last year.

The Pentagon has given the green light to low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the F-35 fighter's new APG-85 active electronically scanned array radar by Northrop Grumman [NOC], according to the company. Northrop Grumman said last week that it had "recently entered the integration and test phase" of APG-85 LRIP. The F-35 Joint Program Office declined to provide any details on LRIP, including how many radars the phase includes. Air Force leadership is consulting with Air Education and Training Command (AETC)…

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