The Air Force has sent six of its “Golden” F-15s, those receiving upgrades including the latest radars—the Active Electronic Scanned Array System version 2—to Kadena AB, Japan, on the island of Okinawa. Over the next 10 years, the Air Force plans to upgrade 178 F-15s with the v2 AESA and send several more to Kadena, reports SrA. Jeremy McGuffin. The new radars are designed to provide better target acquisition and greater reliability. With no moving parts, the v2 AESA requires maintenance about every 1,000 hours compared to the aircraft’s earlier radar, with a hydraulically steered antenna, needed maintenance about every 80 hours.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.