Raytheon announced that the company’s active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for fighter aircraft have accumulated more than 1 million flight hours, aggregating the hours from two U.S. services and four international customers. Raytheon delivered its 1,000th production AESA in May and says it was the first company to produce AESA radars for tactical aircraft.
Raytheon's AESA radars have been the primary targeting sensor on the F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Super Hornet and E/A-18 GROWLER, serving in every major U.S. air combat operation since the mid-2000s: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Odyssey Dawn, Operation Unified Protection and Operation Inherent Resolve.
Eric Ditmars, vice president of Secured Sensor Solutions at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, said, “Our AESAs deliver combat proven capabilities to pilots that help them prosecute their missions and return home safely.”
Raytheon’s principal competitor for fighter radars, Northrop Grumman, won the competition for the F-35 AESA.