Raytheon to Provide AESA Radar for US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles

Released on Friday, November 02, 2007

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon's (NYSE: RTN) revolutionary active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar has been selected by The Boeing Company to supply next-generation capabilities to the U.S. Air Force for the F-15E Strike Eagle.

The source selection award covers AESA radar development, the production of test assets for the system design and development program and production options for retrofit of the 224 F-15Es in the U.S. Air Force fleet.

"Raytheon is extremely proud to build on its more than 35-year legacy on the F-15E and F-15C, working hand in glove with our Boeing and Air Force customers to ensure our technology continues to make a critical difference to the aviators we support," said Jon Jones, president of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, which developed the radar. "We're confident this revolutionary radar will perform well beyond expectations."

Jones noted that Raytheon's AESA technology would take the F-15E to a new operational level of simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities that will keep the aircraft a critical part of the U.S. Air Force's force structure through 2035.

"The superior situational awareness, tactical flexibility, and greater target, track and detection ranges will bring a new dimension to this already formidable fighter," said Dr. Tom Kennedy, vice president for the Tactical Airborne Systems group of SAS. "Additionally, we have built in capabilities for future enhancements such as radar common data link."

The development program is expected to start in 2008 and will run parallel with the United States Air Force and Air National Guard F-15C AESA program already in progress.