APQ-181 radar
Encyclopedia : A : AP : APQ : APQ-181 radar
The AN/APQ-181 is an all-weather, low probability of intercept (LPI) radar system designed by Hughes Aircraft (now Raytheon) for the U.S. Air Force B-2A Spirit bomber aircraft. The system was developed in the mid-1980s and entered service in 1993. The APQ-181 provides a number of precision targeting modes, and also supports terrain following and terrain avoidance. The radar operates in the Ku band (a subset of the J band). The original design uses a TWT-based transmitter with a 2-dimensional passive electronically scanned array (PESA) antenna.
In 1991, the B-2 Industrial Team (including Hughes as a major subcontractor) was awarded the Collier Trophy in recognition of the "design, development, production, and flight testing of the B-2 aircraft, which has contributed significantly to America's enduring leadership in aerospace and the country's future national security."
In 2002, Raytheon was awarded a contract to develop a new, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) version of the APQ-181. This upgrade will improve system reliability, and will also eliminate potential conflicts in frequency usage between the B-2 and commercial satellite systems that also use the J band. All B-2 aircraft are expected to have the upgraded radar by 2010.
See also
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.