Overview
- The Air Force announced Friday that it issued a $603 million ceiling indefinite‑delivery/indefinite‑quantity contract to Raytheon for production and sustainment of the AN/APQ‑188 AESA radar.
- The department also placed a separate Boeing delivery order worth up to about $163 million for Bomb Rack Modernization System kits with initial funds obligated and work schedules set through 2028–2031.
- The AN/APQ‑188 is an active electronically scanned array radar derived from the Navy’s AN/APG‑79 that offers multi‑target tracking, high‑resolution ground mapping, electronic‑warfare uses and improved weather imaging.
- The Radar Modernization Program faces persistent risks: estimates and schedules have slipped, the program previously triggered a Nunn‑McCurdy cost breach, some performance requirements were trimmed to speed fielding, and a June flight‑test crash that killed eight people remains under investigation while a second test aircraft is being modified for further trials.
- Work under the awards is assigned to multiple U.S. sites and depots, tying workforce and supply‑chain plans to long lead times and making the program’s forthcoming test results and revised retrofit timeline the key near‑term milestones to watch.