Longbow (LBL) has secured four foreign military sales (FMS) contracts from the US Army to deliver radar units for the AH-64E Apache helicopters.
Under the contracts, LBL will supply AH-64E Apache helicopter AN/APG-78 Longbow Fire Control Radars (FCR) to the armed forces of Morocco, the Netherlands, the UAE and India.
Overall, the combined value of the contracts amounts to $164.6m.
LBL president and Lockheed Martin programme director Jim Messina said: “The LBL team is excited to bring Morocco, Netherlands and India Army into the Longbow FCR user community, and to update UAE with new capabilities, as the ever-evolving missions of our US allies will benefit from our precision engagement capabilities.
“The Longbow radar remains a relevant and important system for the missions Apache aircrews fly.”
Longbow FCR is a mast-mounted unit that in combination with Apache’s sensors provides the crew with the capability to monitor large areas, identify threats and target threats with a low probability of being detected.
Once the target is identified, the data can be transmitted to the missile and launch system. However, when the target data requires further identification and classification, the data is forwarded to the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight (M-TADS) system.
LBL is a joint venture (JV) of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. It completed 35 years of partnership last month.
LBL vice president and Northrop Grumman director for LONGBOW programmes Shalini Gupta said: “As Longbow JV marks 35 years of successful partnership, the addition of these customers is a testament to the deep experience and dedication the team brings to advance the FCR system to support our customer’s missions.”
In June, the JV achieved a milestone by delivering the 500th APG-78 Longbow FCR.
