Raytheon [RTN] recently completed delivery of its 300th AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) and is looking to broaden the international market for the advanced fighter jet radar.
The 300-mark includes deliveries to the U.S. military and the Royal Australian Air Force, which received the AESAs with the 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets it purchased from Boeing [BA], Larry Seeley, Raytheon’s director of strategy, business and development for Tactical Airborne Systems, told reporters yesterday. Boeing completed delivery of the jets in October.
Raytheon said the system has been modified for installment on F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons and for earlier versions of the F-18, he said.
Seeley said there is growing international interest in the systems, including some close U.S. allies in the Middle East.
“We think the appetite for AESAs around the world is just growing,” Seeley said. He said the radar’s higher cost is offset by the low cost and ease of maintaining and repairing AESA compared to mechanically scanned radars.
Raytheon delivered 237 APG-79 AESA radars under a second multi-year contract and has begun production for the first year of what is expected to be a multi-year contract with Boeing for 163-174 of the systems.
Seeley said Raytheon is also considering the possible use of the AESAs on unmanned aerial systems.