A new scalable agile beam radar that provides B-1B bombers of the U.S. Air Force with unprecedented target area detail has been announced by Northrop Grumman.
Northrop Grumman said its Scalable Agile Beam Radar — Global Strike is a derivative of the AN/APG-83 SABR and leverages the hardware, legacy modes and advanced operating modes proven on the F-35, F-22 and F-16 aircraft.
The system was developed as a low-risk retrofit to the legacy ESA passive system and provides large synthetic aperture radar maps, advanced image processing and sensor integration for situational awareness and new capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting.
"By developing SABR-GS, we've enabled capabilities now critical to the mission — a significant milestone for SABR technology and the B-1," said Paul Kalafos, vice president, surveillance systems business unit, Northrop Grumman. "By leveraging the successes of the SABR for the F-16 fighter, we have activated cost savings for the U.S. Air Force's B-1 program, proven that SABR AESA technology is scalable and extended the survivability of the aircraft for the next 25 years."
The SABR-GS will replace the APQ-164 radar antenna currently deployed on all B-1 bombers, Northrop Grumman said.
