AN/APG-77

The AN/APG-77 is a multifunction Low probability of intercept radar installed on the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft. The radar is built by Northrop Grumman.

It is a solid-state, active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Composed of 1956 transmit/receive modules,^[1][2][3] 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, which is the highest possible value for a flat phased array antenna.^[4] As yet unconfirmed sources suggest that APG-77 has a 'typical' operating range of 193 km (120 mi) and is specified to achieve an 86% probability of intercept against a 1 m² target at its maximum detection range using a single radar paint.^[5] Other source described only as being more than 100 mi (160 km). However, it's thought to be closer to 125–150 mi (201–241 km), which is much farther than the standard F-15's original APG-63(v)1 56-mile (90 km) radar range ^[6]

More than one hundred 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 APG-77v1 was installed on F-22 Raptors from Lot 5 and on. 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).^[7]

See also

• Phased array
• Active electronically scanned array

References

External links

• AN/APG-77 radar technology explained
• f22fighter.com: AN/APG-77
• http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-22-avionics.htm