F-16 får nytt liv med AESA radar i ANG og USAF - The Drive

How F-16 Testers Are Evolving The Jet's New Radar Beyond The Homeland Defense Mission

Rapid deployment of a new AESA radar with the Air National Guard is being followed-up with advanced testing for the full suite of F-16 missions.

BY JAMIE HUNTERAUGUST 13, 2020

U.S. Air Force is deeply engaged in advanced testing that will help it to exploit the full capabilities of the F-16’s new Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array, or AESA, radar. It’s part of uncovering the full potential of the radar, and the F-16 for that matter, as it joins more squadrons, firstly in the Air National Guard, followed by active-duty units. 

AESA radars offer a massive leap in capabilities over their mechanically scanned array predecessors, both in terms of range, fidelity, fast-scanning ability, reliability, and resistance to being jammed or being fooled by enemy countermeasures, among other advantages. You can read more about AESA arrays in these past War Zone pieces for more background on the topic.