F-16 system upgrade

Raytheon Intelligence & Space Awarded Contract to Upgrade Radar Warning Receivers on USAF F-16s

Raytheon Intelligence & Space announced that it has been awarded $30 million in contracts to upgrade and provide spares for the all-digital AN/ALR-69A(V) radar warning receiver for the U.S. Air Force’s F-16 fighter aircraft. The updated ALR-69A(V) will give pilots greater situational awareness to better understand their surroundings and help them make faster decisions, RI&S said Thursday.

In a statement, the company said the improved ALR-69A(V) will feature capabilities unattainable in earlier tactical RWRs. These include advanced broadband digital receiver technology, easy cross-platform integration, enhanced spectral and spatial coverage for high-sensitivity detection in dense signal environments, and single-ship geolocation.

Paul Overstreet, director of radar warning receivers for RI&S, warned that pilots today run the risk of facing new and advanced threat signals from enemy radars that they cannot detect or even see in the electromagnetic spectrum. With the company’s all-digital radar warning receiver, pilots can detect advanced threats with greater accuracy and from a much greater distance. Furthermore, the system’s open architecture design enables rapid, more affordable digital upgrades, he said.

Under the contract, Raytheon will provide the ALR-69A(V) upgrades over the next 14 months following integration and testing aboard the F-16. Work on the ALR-69A is performed in Goleta, California and Forest, Mississippi, the company said.

Meanwhile, the ALR-69A is also in the process of being installed on the Air Force’s C-130H transport and KC-46A tanker aircraft, as well as on the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25A refueling drone. The design allows cross-platform commonality, improved spectral and spatial coverage and easy integration with other electronic countermeasure or radar systems, Raytheon said on its website.