Lockheed Martin has completed a critical design review on an upgraded Active Electronically Scanned Array radar for its newest configuration of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which the Air Force initially wanted. Completion of the CDR proves that Northrop Grumman’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar “meets all specified US Air Force and Lockheed Martin requirements,” according to a company release. The SABR had been planned to be part of the Air Force’s F-16 avionics upgrade program, called CAPES. But funding for CAPES was removed from the proposed Fiscal 2015 budget. “While Lockheed Martin is confident USAF requirements for upgrades to its F-16 fleet have not changed, the issue is funding,” Mark Johnson, director of Lockheed’s F-16/F-22 Integrated Fighter Group communications, said in an e-mail. The radar is to be part of the F-16V configuration, which now is expected to go to Taiwan. Lockheed said it will continue with “follow-on activities such as development, integration, and flight test for Taiwan’s fleet of 144 Block 20 F-16A/B.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…
