Raytheon [RTN] said yesterday it won South Korea’s competition to upgrade its F-16 radars.
Northrop Grumman [NOC] had also been vying for the program.
Raytheon will upgrade South Korea’s KF-16C/D Block 52 Fighting Falcon fleet with its advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR), according to a company statement. Raytheon Vice President of International Strategy and Business Development for Space and Airborne Systems Jim Hvizd said yesterday during a conference call the company will upgrade 134 jets.
Hvizd declined to comment on potential contract value, saying South Korea’s decision is a source selection, not a contract award, and those details will come out as the United States hammers out its Foreign Military Sale (FMS) process. Radar deliveries are anticipated to start in late 2016 and last through 2021, Hvizd said.
Raytheon has also retrofitted AESA radars on F-15Cs, F-15Es and F/A-18E/Fs, according to a company statement. Raytheon said it has already delivered more than 500 AESA systems worldwide.
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are also pursuing the Air Force’s F-16 radar modernization program. The service plans to buy at least 300 radars. The Air Force said the radar modernization program is worth $1.9 billion with the radar constituting 75-85 percent of the total estimated value (Defense Daily, June 21).
Northrop Grumman spokeswoman Alleace Gibbs said yesterday in a statement that official notification of the contractor for the KF-16C/D radar program has not been confirmed and that program procurement is a FMS and subject to U.S. government approval. Gibbs also said Northrop Grumman is the only AESA radar supplier for the F-16 capable of providing rapid integration and a low-risk, responsive delivery schedule.