The U.S. Air Force awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract for Raytheon's AN/ALR-69A(V), the world's first all-digital radar warning receiver. The contract calls for the rapid procurement of 779 units or more for the USAF fleet of tactical air and large body aircraft.

Raytheon's digital warning receiver will be fitted on USAF tactical air and large body aircraft
(Credit: Boeing/Paul Weatherman)

The ALR-69A enhances aircrew survivability, providing "sensors forward" situational awareness without making any hardware modifications, extending the USAF fleet's operability well into the future.

"The ALR-69A provides USAF pilots the situational awareness required to operate in current and future complex emitter environments," said Travis Slocumb, vice president, Raytheon Electronic Warfare Systems. "We will continue to upgrade the receiver and add machine learning-based modules so the system can autonomously adapt to new threats."

The ALR-69A provides improved detection range and accurate, unambiguous identification in dense signal environments comprised of threat signals and those from wingmen, coalition partners and commercial operations. Its 360-degree coverage is provided by four independent radar receivers, each covering one quadrant of the aircraft. The system can identify threats in dense signal environments while assisting with targeting solutions. The ALR-69A is installed on the U.S. Air Force C-130H, KC-46A and is being tested on the F-16.