The AN/APG-77 is a multifunction low probability of intercept radar installed on the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft. The radar was designed and initially built by Westinghouse and Texas Instruments, and production continued with their respective successors Northrop Grumman and Raytheon after acquisition.
Country of origin | United States |
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Manufacturer | Westinghouse (acquired by Northrop Grumman), Texas Instruments (acquired by Raytheon) |
Type | Solid-state active electronically scanned array (AESA) |
Azimuth | 120° |
Power | 20 kW peak[1] |
It is a solid-state, active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Composed of 1956 transmit/receive modules,[2] each about the size of a gum stick, it can perform a near-instantaneous beam steering (in the order of tens of nanoseconds).
The APG-77 provides 120° field of view in azimuth and elevation,[citation needed]. APG-77 has an operating range of 100 mi (160 km) while unconfirmed sources suggest an operating range of 125–150 mi (201–241 km),[3] against a 1 m2 (11 sq ft) target. A range of 400 km or more, with the APG-77v1 with newer GaAs modules is believed to be possible while using more narrow beams.[4][3]
More than 100 APG-77 AESA radars have been produced to date by Northrop Grumman, and much of the technology developed for the APG-77 is being used in the APG-81 radar for the F-35 Lightning II. The AN/APG-77 system itself exhibits a very low radar cross-section, supporting the F-22's stealthy design.
The APG-77v1 was installed on F-22 Raptors from Lot 5 and on.[5] This provided full air-to-ground functionality (high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping, ground moving target indication and track (GMTI/GMTT), automatic cueing and recognition, combat identification, and many other advanced features).[6][5][7]