F-16 radar urgently requested

The Air Force's F-16s used for homeland protection need radar upgrades urgently, according to the commander of the First Air Force at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. These are upgrades the service put off due to funding restrictions. The First Air Force, the numbered Air Force with sole responsibility of ensuring air superiority and air sovereignty of the U.S., recently filed the urgent operational need request with the Air Force Requirements Council for fiscal 2015 funding for its Aerospace Control Alert mission, Air Force Times has learned. The request now being considered, specifically for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Block 30 F-16s, seeks the installation of the Northrop Grumman APG-83 SABR active electronically scanned array radar. The radar was part of the combat avionics program extension suite that the Air Force dropped from its fiscal 2015 and 2016 budget requests both because of budget shortfalls. The First Air Force, part of the Air Combat Command, has subordinate units throughout the United States. (Source: Air Force Times, 03/05/15)