The AN/APG-66radar is a
solid state medium range (up to 150 km)
pulse-Dopplerplanar array radar originally designed by the
Westinghouse Electric Corporation (now
Northrop Grumman) for use in early generations of the
F-16 Fighting Falcon; later variants use the
AN/APG-68 or the
AN/APG-83. This radar was employed in all domestic and export versions of the F-16 A/B models throughout the production. Subsequent upgrades have been installed in many varying aircraft types, including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's C-550
Cessna Citation, US Navy
P-3 Orion, and Piper PA-42 Cheyenne II's, as well as the Small Aerostat Surveillance System (SASS). Primary air-combat mode is look-down. In that mode, the AN/APG-66 can detect a fighter-size plane at a range of 34.5 Nautical miles (55.6 kilometers). Four modes are available in air-to-air combat. In dogfight mode, the radar scans a 20 degrees x 20 degrees field. In high-g maneuvers, it scans a 40 degrees x10 degrees pattern.
The radar system consists of the following
line-replaceable units:
Weight: 98 to 135 kilograms (216 to 298 lb) depending on configuration
Volume: 0.08 to 0.102 cubic metres (2.8 to 3.6 cu ft) depending on configuration
Variants
APG-66(V) – Employed in select US Navy
P-3 Orion aircraft as part of a Counter Drug Update (CDU) for Counter-narcotics (CN) surveillance and interdiction operations in support of
USCG[1]
APG-66(V)2 – upgrade of base radar developed for the
F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 15 Mid Life Update program. New signal processor, higher output power, improved reliability. Range in clutter/jamming environment increased to 83 km.
APG-66(V)2A – AN/APG-66(V)2 with a new combined signal and data processor that provides seven times the speed and 20 times the memory of the older radar computer and digital signal processor line replaceable units. In this new variant, the displayed resolution in ground-mapping mode is quadrupled, and is reported to be close to that offered by
SAR techniques. Used for modernization of F-16A/B fleet of Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal and the Netherlands in the mid-1990s.
APG-66(V)3 – as APG-66(V)2 but with
CW illumination capability, export to Taiwan.[2]
APG-66(V)X – improved version of the APG-66(V)2/3 radar with greater detection range.