AN/APG-79
US military aircraft fire-control radar
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The AN/APG-79 is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar developed for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft of the United States Navy.[1] The radar replaces the legacy AN/APG-73 on the Super Hornet. AESA technology provides quick updates on multiple targets, and its solid-state antenna construction makes it more reliable and cost-effective than traditional radar systems.[2] The radar has a range of up to 150 km (81 nmi; 93 mi) tracking multiple targets simultaneously.[3]
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In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "AN/APG-79" designation represents the 79th design of an Army-Navy airborne electronic device for radar fire-control equipment. The JETDS system also now is used to name all Department of Defense electronic systems.
Milestones
As of July 2008[update], Raytheon had delivered one hundred APG-79 sets to the US Navy, with a contract for 437 more.[4] In an April 2011 press release, Raytheon announced they had delivered the 250th APG-79.[5]
In January 2013, the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) disclosed poor reliability issues with the APG-79 radar during its initial operational testing as a result of software instability.[6]
Variants
AN/APG-79(V)4
The AN/APG-79(V)4 was selected in December 2020 for retrofitting US Navy and US Marine Corps' F/A-18C/D Hornets,[7] and upgrading the fleets of Canadian CF-188 Hornets,.[8][9] The APG-79(V)4 uses gallium nitride (GaN) transmit/receive modules, which enables the radar to achieve comparable performance to the larger F/A-18E/F APG-79 from the smaller Legacy Hornet aperture. The greater power density of the GaN modules required the installation of a liquid cooling system, compared to the forced-air cooling on the legacy AN/APG-73.[10][11]
AN/APQ-188
The AN/APQ-188 is the designation for an upgraded variant of the APG-79 adapted by Raytheon for the B-52 Stratofortress Radar Modernization Program (RMP), replacing the Cold War-era mechanically scanned AN/APQ-166. The new radar would also incorporate technology from the AN/APG-82(V)1 of the F-15E Strike Eagle/F-15EX Eagle II aircraft. Under the RMP, the APQ-188 would replace the existing APQ-166 and the upgraded aircraft would be redesignated as the B-52J.[12][13][14]
