An Air Force F-15E flew for the first time with the Raytheon APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned array radar that is planned for the Strike Eagle fleet. “From what we saw in this flight, we’re heading in the right direction,” said test pilot Maj. Raja Chari of the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla. He flew the aircraft during the Jan. 18 test at Eglin. The APG-82(V)1 combines AESA technology from USAF’s F-15C radar modernization and avionics from the Navy’s F-18E/F fighter. “One AESA-equipped F-15E can detect and track multiple targets simultaneously . . . and prosecute the same number of attacks” as several current aircraft, stated Boeing director for USAF development programs Brad Jones. Boeing oversees USAF’s F-15 upgrades. Developmental testing will continue through 2012, overlapping with limited operational testing. Fleet conversion is targeted to start in 2014. (Eglin report by Samuel King Jr.)
RTX, parent of Raytheon, Collins and Pratt & Whitney, is getting out of the space prime business and focusing on its "strengths" as a maker of space sensors, buses, and components, company COO Chris Calio said during an earnings call.