Radar improvement retrofit begins for British AWACS

17 Jun 2002

Installation of a radar system improvement program (RSIP) kit on a United Kingdom Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft has begun. The plane will be the first of seven to be retrofitted with the RSIP upgrade and with new Global Positioning System navigation equipment. The RSIP consists of a new radar computer, a radar control maintenance panel, and electrical and mechanical hardware and will increase the sensitivity of the pulse Doppler radar to detect and track smaller stealthy objects and improve the radar's counter-countermeasures capability as well as providing a high-reliability multiprocessor for the computer and rewriting software for easier maintenance and future enhancement.