Northrop Grumman has handed over the 500th unit of a fire control radar system for the F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft.
The AN/APG-81 radar has electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance features and is designed to support various mission types through long-range air-to-ground and air-to-air nodes, the company said Thursday.
Aside from the radar, Northrop has been building wing skins, avionics, mission-planning applications, sensor systems, training tools, simulation test capacities and center fuselage for the aircraft.
“As a principal member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team, our continued investment in facilities and equipment, production enhancements in process and design, and expanded supply chain capability through second sourcing helped reach this milestone,†said Chris Fitzpatrick, director of F-35 programs at Northrop.