Northrop Grumman [NOC] said on July 31 that it won a high-profile competition an analyst valued at exceeding $2 billion to upgrade the radars of both the United States’ and Taiwan’s F-16s fighter jets.
Lockheed Martin [LMT], which was selected by the Air Force as integrator, picked Northrop Grumman’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) over competitor Raytheon [RTN], which offered its Advanced Combat Radar (RACR). Northrop Grumman Vice President and General Manager of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Targeting Joe Ensor told Defense Daily the award was to initially upgrade 300 Air Force F-16s and, he believed, 150 Taiwan F-16s. Lockheed Martin develops the F-16.
Ensor said the ability to adjust SABR’s antenna array for various platforms means it could be a good option for other nations looking to upgrade older radars.
“If we wanted to take this around the world as our international offering, this is an excellent radar to use from a performance baseline perspective to introduce to other platforms,” Ensor said.
Ensor said the award is for the development phase of the program and that radar deliveries wouldn’t begin for a few years. He also expects to finalize the contract with Lockheed Martin in a few weeks.
Raytheon spokeswoman Theresa Huerta said on August 1 in a statement the company looks forward to a debriefing with Lockheed Martin and that it will continue to pursue other international opportunities. Raytheon previously won South Korea’s competition to upgrade its F-16 radars. Huerta said Raytheon partnered with BAE Systems on the deal.
Jefferies investment bank analyst Howard Rubel said in a note to clients the Air Force/Taiwan business opportunity is estimated to exceed $2 billion given the Air Force has almost 600 active F-16s today and the Taiwan program is for 145 jets. Rubel also estimated a unit price in the $3 million range for the upgrade.
The Air Force selected Lockheed Martin, which develops the F-16, to handle the competition because joint development of a common radar would save both programs developmental funding, service spokesman Ed Gulick said in an email. Gulick said the contract includes responsibility for integrated system performance and that the Air Force is confident in Lockheed Martin’s decision.
Rubel said the contract award is a big win for Northrop Grumman, which has upcoming radar opportunities in the Navy’s ship-based Air Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and the Air Force’s Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radar (3DELRR). Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are also pursuing both the AMDR contract and 3DELRR contract. 3DELRR is estimated to be worth $1.3 billion.