Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) Successfully Demonstrated Aboard U.S. Air Force F-16
Jan. 25, 2010 - Northrop Grumman Corporation, in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force, has successfully completed a series of demonstration flights of its Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) installed in an F-16 fighter aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The demonstration was in support of a U.S. Air Force F-16 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) feasibility study.
"Almost two years ago Northrop Grumman said that air forces of the future will necessarily gravitate toward using AESA technology – especially through scalable retrofit technology. Our team has worked diligently to make that possible and today we've made it a reality. This officially marks the first time a retrofit AESA has ever flown in a legacy F-16," said Arlene Camp, director of Advanced F-16 Radar Programs at Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector.
“The fit-check completed on June 29, is another important milestone leading up to a planned F-16 flight demonstration later this year,” said Arlene Camp, director of Advanced F-16 Radar Programs at Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems Division. “Installation took less than five hours and assessed SABR’s design goals to integrate seamlessly within existing F-16 Block 50/52 physical constraints for interface to aircraft power, cooling, and avionics.”
Northrop Grumman to Reveal Results from Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) Series of First Flights
Northrop Grumman has successfully concluded the first set of flight demonstrations of the company’s newest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) fighter sensor, the Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR).
Northrop Grumman Conducts Successful First Flight of New Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR)
LINTHICUM, Md. - Nov. 18, 2008 - Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has successfully conducted the first demonstration flight of the company’s newest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) fighter sensor, the Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR). SABR is being developed as a significant avionics enhancement for the existing fleet of F-16s and other fighter aircraft worldwide.
“This first flight marks a major milestone in our effort to develop an AESA radar designed specifically to meet current F-16 power, cooling, and interface requirements,” said Arlene Camp, director of Advanced F-16 Radar Programs at Northrop Grumman. "Although designed specifically for the F-16, SABR is scalable and adaptable to other platforms and missions."
SABR completed its first flight ahead of schedule on November 16, successfully detecting and displaying numerous aerial targets, and exceeding first flight predictions, Camp noted.
"This demonstration flight is the first in a series scheduled over the next few weeks as we transition SABR from a laboratory environment to an operational flight environment,” said Camp. “The Sabreliner testbed aircraft has an actual F-16 radome and avionics. We’ve used the Sabreliner for more than 20 years for developing and testing F-16 mechanically scanned radar hardware and software. It’s as close as you're going to get to a real F-16 flight demonstration."
"SABR is Northrop Grumman’s investment toward enhancing and sustaining the F-16's combat capability for decades to come," added Camp. "We plan to demonstrate SABR on an F-16 next year."
Compared to the mechanically-scanned array radars it is designed to replace, SABR will provide the increased performance, multi-functionality, and greater reliability inherent in AESA radars. The improved situational awareness, greater detection, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar, and interleaved air-to-air and air-to-surface mode operations will provide pilots true all-environment precision strike capability.
LINTHICUM, Md. - Nov. 18, 2008 - Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has successfully conducted the first demonstration flight of the company’s newest