AN/APG-81 radar
The Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 airborne radar is the primary sensor on Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II series multi-role fighter aircraft.
The AN/APG-81 radar design is based in design, capability, range, and hardware on its predecessor, the AN/APG-77 radar used on the F-22 Raptor.
It uses an active electronically scanned array (AESA) phased array antenna.
Since this airborne radar station (hereafter RLS) is currently still under development and only during the past days some tests were conducted on it during the Northern Edge 2009 exercise in Alaska (15-26 June) and in addition the actual test RLS was installed on the BAC 1-11 test aircraft, all information about it is based on conjecture, guesswork, fiction, simply not enough confidential data is available.
Nevertheless, I have decided to introduce this RLS here because there will soon be considerably more information about it and then this topic can be conveniently added to.
The only thing that can be said with certainty today is the fact that the AN/APG-81 RLS should perform better, process more targets, be more resistant to all kinds of interference and radiate less energy, which should lead to a more difficult search for its carrier by all means of reconnaissance, especially passive.
With a probability approaching 100%, it can be said that the AN/APG-81, like the AN/APG-77, will operate in the X-band radar, which is 8-12 GHz (2.5-3.75 cm).
Sources of information and images:
Northrop Grumman official website www.es.northropgrumman.com
Airliners.com www.airliners.net
The Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 airborne radar is the primary sensor on Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II series multi-role fighter aircraft.
The AN/APG-81 radar design is based in design, capability, range, and hardware on its predecessor, the AN/APG-77 radar used on the F-22 Raptor.
It uses an active electronically scanned array (AESA) phased array antenna.
Since this airborne radar station (hereafter RLS) is currently still under development and only during the past days some tests were conducted on it during the Northern Edge 2009 exercise in Alaska (15-26 June) and in addition the actual test RLS was installed on the BAC 1-11 test aircraft, all information about it is based on conjecture, guesswork, fiction, simply not enough confidential data is available.
Nevertheless, I have decided to introduce this RLS here because there will soon be considerably more information about it and then this topic can be conveniently added to.
The only thing that can be said with certainty today is the fact that the AN/APG-81 RLS should perform better, process more targets, be more resistant to all kinds of interference and radiate less energy, which should lead to a more difficult search for its carrier by all means of reconnaissance, especially passive.
With a probability approaching 100%, it can be said that the AN/APG-81, like the AN/APG-77, will operate in the X-band radar, which is 8-12 GHz (2.5-3.75 cm).
Sources of information and images:
Northrop Grumman official website www.es.northropgrumman.com
Airliners.com www.airliners.net
