NEW RADAR TESTED FOR F-16 PLANES.Byline: Daily News EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - The U.S. Air Force is testing a new radar that will let F-16 pilots detect and locate targets on the ground for attack with precision-guided weapons. The APG-68(V)9 multimode radar, built by Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. , is now the standard radar version on all Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. F-16 Advanced Block 50/52 aircraft. ``This new radar significantly enhances the F-16's combat capability,'' said John L. Bean, vice president of F-16 programs at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. ``The resolution of the radar's ground-mapping mode is the highest of any production fighter in the world. F-16 pilots will be able to detect, recognize and accurately locate targets for attack using precision weapons.'' Flight-testing of the radar began a year ago. Testing of the radar's synthetic aperture mode, which provides the high-resolution ground mapping, was conducted last year on a Northrop Grumman BAC BAC abbr. blood alcohol concentration 1-11 ``flying test bed'' aircraft. The latest tests at Edwards are to verify that the synthetic aperture mode works well in the F-16, without interfering with other equipment. The synthetic aperture mode should increase the range at which the F-16 can detect targets and the detail in which they are shown, said Maj. Todd Ericson, F-16 project pilot for APG-68V(9) radar development. Ericson said the radar is showing good potential in this early phase of testing. The radar also can detect other aircraft at a greater distance and is expected to be more reliable, officials said. Also, application of advanced processing techniques enhances the radar's ability to operate in area where there are many electromagnetic transmissions, as from other radars and radios, and to resist jamming. The new radar takes advantage of current commercial off-the-shelf Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) is a term for software or hardware, generally technology or computer products, that are ready-made and available for sale, lease, or license to the general public. technology, both in hardware and software, which provides a fivefold fivefold Adjective 1. having five times as many or as much 2. composed of five parts Adverb by five times as many or as much Adj. 1. increase in processing speed See MHz. and tenfold increase in memory from the previous APG-68 production radar, officials said. Several countries have ordered more than 200 of the advanced F-16 Block 50/52 version. |
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