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Critical Protection System for the Super Hornet Radar System Provided by Raytheon and LORD Corporation

Customer
Raytheon, responsible for the development of an active electronically scanned APG-73 radar system for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

Challenge
LORD was tasked with supplying mounting isolators for the new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The new system is expected to allow the strike fighter simultaneously to scan an area and track multiple individual targets in its air-to-air mode, while providing high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) air-to-ground capability. Increased radar weight and operating frequencies complicated the design process.

Solution
LORD applied experience gained through the evaluation of the earlier design to develop an isolator that exceeded the specification requirements and the necessary qualification testing. Further, LORD Corporation’s in-house elastomer blending capability proved to be a real advantage in fine-tuning the characteristics of the isolators.

Results
The LORD-designed isolator solution provides critical protection of the sensitive AESA system electronics from damage during flight maneuvers and carrier landings.