SABR (Scalable Agile Beam Radar) APG-83 AESA

men installing radar in nose tip of airplane

5th Generation Fighter Radar Capability for the 4th Gen Aircraft

The SABR APG-83 is an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) fire control radar. Building on Northrop Grumman's 40-year legacy producing radars for the F-16, it integrates within the F-16's current structural, power and cooling constraints without Group A aircraft modification. The capabilities of this advanced AESA are derived from Northrop Grumman's family of highly successful 5th generation fighter AESA radars, the F-22's APG-77 and F-35's APG-81.

Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 SABR Radar Achieves Initial Installation Milestone for Air National Guard F-16s

Why Upgrade Now?

Today's battlespace becomes more challenging and dangerous every day. Technology is rapidly becoming more sophisticated and so is the threat. To counter these more sophisticated threats, the world's newest fighter aircraft and legacy fleets are being equipped with AESA radars. The greater bandwidth, speed, and agility of AESA radars enable fighter and legacy aircraft to detect, track, and identify a greater numbers of targets, faster and at longer ranges and to operate in hostile electronic environments.

APG-83 AESA Capability Enhancements

The APG-83 AESA provides the following capability enhancements over legacy mechanically scanned APG-66 & APG-68 radars to ensure F-16s, F-18s and other 4th gen aircraft remain operationally viable and sustainable for decades to come:

Autonomous, all-environment stand-off precision targeting
- BIG SAR wide area high-res maps
- High quality, coordinate generation
Greater target detection and tracking range
- Faster search and target acquisition
- Smaller target detection
- Multi-target tracking
- Robust electronic protection (A/A and A/G)
- Enhanced combat ID
Interleaved mode operations for greater situational awareness
Maritime modes
3-5X greater reliability and availability

The APG-83 is available today!

Production is underway for global F-16 upgrade and new aircraft production programs, as well as for the United States Air National Guard. Northrop Grumman has also successfully installed a production APG-83 SABR on a U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California.

Learn more > SABR Datasheet