USAF C-130Hs to receive self-defence enhancements.
On 9th February, a contract worth $10.9 million was announced for the for installation and integration of Raytheon’s AN/ALR-69A(V) Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) on the United States Air Force’s (USAF) Lockheed Martin C-130H turboprop freighters. The work, according to publicly available reports, is expected to be completed by October 2022.
Raytheon’s AN/ALR-69A(V) RWR claims to be the world’s first all-digital RWR and is capable of providing 360 degree coverage around the aircraft using each of the system’s four receivers. The AN/ALR-69A(V) also provides a high degree of geolocation accuracy for both ground-based and airborne emitters. The overall AN/ALR-69A(V) programme commenced in 2001, with initial flight tests occurring four years later. In addition to the C-130H, the AN/ALR-69A(V) will outfit the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker, and will replace the legacy AN/ALR-69(V) RWR equipping the USAF’s Lockheed Martin F-16 family combat aircraft and the Fairchild/Lockheed Martin A-10A/C ground attack aircraft.
Thomas Withington
