Contract for Second Lot of F-15E AESA Radars: Raytheon announced it’s received the contract to build the second lot of APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned array radars for the Air Force’s F-15E fleet. The company is scheduled to start delivering these Lot 2 low-rate initial production AESA units in February 2014, according to Raytheon’s Sept. 17 release. While Raytheon’s release did not provide the number of Lot 2 units, Boeing, the prime contractor for the Air Force’s F-15E Radar Modernization Program, has stated there’d be 10 units assembled during this production run. Raytheon began production of the six Lot 1 units in fall 2011. Under the RMP, Boeing is installing the Raytheon-supplied AESAs on the Strike Eagle fleet, replacing the aircraft’s existing APG-70 mechanically steered radar. The APG-82 is able to simultaneously detect, identify, and track multiple air and surface targets at longer ranges than the APG-70, according to Raytheon. Plus, it’s considered to be much more reliable.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
