The Great Radar War Begins

[unhappycamper]

The Great Radar War Begins

Boeing is expected by the end of this week to select a manufacturer to upgrade the US Air Force F-15 fleet with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

Vying for this contract are Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, but no matter who wins Boeing's protest-proof selection (take that, GAO) will be sure to set off the first Great Radar War.

The idea driving this industrial war is this: the power of a fighter aircraft's radar may now be as important in combat as the power of its engine.

In the early 1980s, Pratt & Whitney and General Electric fought every year for their share of the USAF's fighter engine budget. The rivalry was so intense it was chronicled in a book called the Great Engine War.

That same industrial phenomenon has started to appear in the radar market. The contract for the F-15 radar modernization will be the first of several to come.

Both Raytheon and Northrop are designing new active arrays for the F-16 in anticipation of foreign buyers (hello, India?) and eventually the USAF.


Rest of article at: http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003832.html?wh=wh