Northrop Grumman began flight testing of its new APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) on the latest F-16V Viper variant this week at Edwards AFB, Calif., the company announced. “The beginning of flight testing is a major milestone for SABR that will lead to game-changing mission advantages for the warfighter,” company airborne C4ISR vice president Mike Hinkey said in a release. The SABR Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar is a key component of the F-16V configuration, which is available as upgrade to existing F-16s or for new-build aircraft. The APG-83 “provides fifth generation fighter radar capabilities to the F-16” at an affordable price, said Hinkey, and has already been selected by Taiwan as part of its ongoing F-16 upgrade. A pair of legacy F-16s have already been retrofit with the APG-83 at Edwards to support testing for Taiwan. The company has delivered 14 APG-83s to Lockheed Martin since last December and plans to deliver the first of 144 units for international customers this year.
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.