"Raytheon was selected by the Boeing Company as radar supplier for the B-52 bomber radar modernization program," the release said on Thursday. "Raytheon will design, develop, produce and sustain active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems for the entire US Air Force B-52 fleet."
Raytheon explained in the release the advanced radar upgrade will ensure that the B-52 force continues to be mission ready through 2050 and beyond.
Low rate initial production of the new radars scheduled to begin in 2024, Raytheon noted.
"With an AESA radar on board, the B-52 will gain improved navigation reliability to support nuclear and conventional missions. Raytheon's B-52 radar is based on AESA technologies developed from the APG-79/APG-82 radar family," the release said.
The B-52 will operate with improved mapping and detection range and an increase in the number of targets they are able to simultaneously engage and boosted range and radar reliability, Raytheon added.
An active electronically scanned array is a form of phased array antenna whose radio beams can be electronically focused in different directions without having to adjust the antenna, according to published sources.