APG-63 and APG-70 - AN/APG-63

AN/APG-63

The APG-63 was developed in the early 1970s and has been operational since 1973, and was installed on all F-15A/Bs. In 1979, it received a major upgrade and became the first airborne radar to incorporate a software programmable signal processor (PSP), and the PSP allowed the system to be modified to accommodate new modes and weapons through software reprogramming rather than by hardware retrofit. The APG-63 with PSP is one of the most important feature that disguishes earlier F-15 A/Bs from the F-15 C/Ds fitted with PSP, and with the exception of the final 43 (which are equipped with APG-70), all F-15 C/Ds are equipped with APG-63 with PSP.

The APG-63 series is no longer in production but remains in service. Almost 1,000 APG-63s had been delivered when production ended in 1986. About 700 are still operational in F-15As, Bs, and early model Cs and Ds operated by the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, and the air forces of Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. They are also fitted to the Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Air and Marine.