Group : Radar Systems
Status : Active
Origin : United States of America
Contractor : Northrop Grumman
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) : 2016
Total Production : ?

The AN/APG-81 is an advanced fire control radar developed by Northrop-Grumman for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). It features both air and surface modes and Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antenna for enhanced performance. The APG-81 radar underwent rooftop integration range-testing phase entering flight testing on a Northrop-Grumman BAC 1-11 testbed aircraft in early 2005. The BAC 1-11 tested its air and surface modes. Northrop-Grumman handed over the first AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar to F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) prime contractor Lockheed-Martin on March 3, 2005. APG-81 radar system will support air-to-air, air-to-surface and electronic warfare modes providing the pilot with all-weather precision targeting and advanced air-to-ground automatic target cueing.

The AN/APG-81 radar is a combination of the proven technologies from the F/A-22's APG-77 and the F-16E/F's APG-80 AESA radar systems. The APG-81 features features 1,000 transceivers with the ability to track aerial targets and moving targets on the ground. In the air surveillance mode can detect an airborne target of one square meter Radar Cross Section (RCS) at a range of 150 kilometers. Besides, can track 23 targets in 9 seconds while engaging 19 of them in 2.4 seconds.