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.”
Depot-level maintenance took longer than expected for nearly three-quarters of Air Force aircraft from fiscal 2019-2024, according to a new report, as unplanned repairs rise across the aging fleet. The report, from the Government Accountability Office, also found that the extent of the delays has been masked because officials often revise their target timelines after unplanned work occurs.