Page 14 - SOFEX 2022 - Day 3

NEW F16-S TO BOOST all-weather, high-resolution synthetic aper-
ture radar mapping, which presents the
pilot with a large surface image enabling
JORDANIAN AIRPOWER precision target identification and strike.
The APG-83 AESA provides substantial
capability enhancements over legacy
mechanically scanned APG-66 & APG-68
The acquisition of eight new produc- Block 70 Aircraft to Jordan in February. The radars. According to Northrop Grumman,
tion F-16 Block 70 aircraft for the Royal RJAF aircraft will be powered by F100-GE- the new AESA radar offers 3-5X greater
Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) is a major boost 129D engines or F100-PW229EEP engines reliability and availability. The AN/APG-83’s
to its airpower. Jordan officially signed a and also receive Northrop Grumman’s AN/ design incorporates proven hardware and
Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the APG-83 active electronically scanned array advanced operating modes from Northrop
F-16 Block 70 aircraft in June. “This F-16 (AESA) scalable agile beam radars (SABR). Grumman’s fifth-generation F-35 and F-22
acquisition reflects over 70 years of U.S. This upgrade will keep the multirole F-16 AESA radars. The U.S. Air Force selected
cooperation and decades of partnership fighter relevant and capable for decades the APG-83 SABR as the AESA for its F-16
with Lockheed Martin,” said Aimee Burnett, to come. radar upgrade in June 2017.
vice president, Integrated Fighter Group The new AESA radars will allow RJAF pilots
Business Development. “Our history part- to detect, target, identify, and engage across Other equipment approved for sale by the
nering with Jordan strengthens regional a spectrum of threats at longer ranges and U.S. Government to Jordan are the AN/
security and helps protect citizens through react with greater precision. The greater AAQ-33 Sniper advanced targeting pods
21st Century Security technologies that bandwidth, speed, and agility of Northrop (ATP), Link 16 Low-Volume Terminals (for
support critical missions today and into Grumman’s APG-83 SABR enables the F-16 aircraft and ground stations), KMU-556
the future.” to detect, track and identify greater num- Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail
bers of targets faster and at longer ranges.
The U.S. State Department had approved In addition, the radar can operate in hos- kits for 2,000LB GBU-31, KMU-572 JDAM
tail kits for 500LB Laser JDAM GBU-54,
the foreign military sale of the F-16 C/D tile electronic environments and features
Paveway II (PWII) GBU-10s, Joint Helmet
Mounted Cueing System II (JHMCS II) or
Scorpion Hybrid Optical-based Inertial
Tracker (HObIT) helmet mounted displays;
AN/ALQ-254 Viper Shield or equivalent
Integrated Electronic Warfare (EW) sys-
tems, etc.

The proposed sale will improve Jordan’s
capability to meet current and future threats
by ensuring continued interoperability with
U.S. and coalition forces. These aircraft will
modernize the Jordanian fighter aircraft
fleet and support operational requirements
associated with regional U.S.-coalition
goals, such as countering violent extrem-
ist organizations, countering malign state
and non-state actors, and border defense.
Jordan will have no difficulty absorbing this
equipment into its armed forces.

14 | NOVEMBER-03-2022 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/DAILY NEWS