Technology: U.S. Raytheon Successfully Flight Tests PhantomStrike Radar Offering Real-Time Multi-Target Detection and Tracking.

American company Raytheon, a business unit of RTX, announced on May 6, 2025, a significant achievement and pivotal milestone in radar technology with the successful first flight test of its PhantomStrike next-generation airborne radar system. The test was conducted on the company’s Multi-Program Testbed aircraft in Ontario, California. This event marks a new chapter in the development of lightweight, high-performance radar systems capable of integration across a broad range of military platforms. During the flight, the PhantomStrike system demonstrated its operational readiness by effectively tracking multiple airborne targets and producing high-resolution terrain maps—underscoring its superior situational awareness capabilities.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Raytheon’s PhantomStrike radar in action: visualizing real-time detection, tracking, and prioritization of multiple airborne targets during a simulated combat mission—highlighting its compact design and integration on lightweight aircraft platforms. (Picture source: Raytheon)

Raytheon PhantomStrike represents a leap forward in radar technology—bringing the sophisticated capabilities typically reserved for high-end fighter jets into a radically smaller, lighter, and more affordable package. For those unfamiliar with radar systems, PhantomStrike functions as the “eyes” of a combat aircraft, but with a level of intelligence and agility that far surpasses traditional radar. Most legacy radars rely on rotating antennas to scan the airspace, limiting speed and flexibility. PhantomStrike, on the other hand, employs active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology, which uses electronically controlled beams to detect, track, and prioritize multiple targets in real-time, even in challenging and contested environments.

What makes PhantomStrike unique is its engineering. It is the world’s first fully air-cooled AESA radar powered by gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors. GaN allows for higher power output and improved efficiency while keeping heat generation low—an essential trait in the harsh operational environments of military aviation. Unlike conventional radar systems that require liquid cooling and substantial space, PhantomStrike’s air-cooled system is compact and easy to maintain, opening the door to installation on platforms previously unable to accommodate advanced radar technologies.

Despite its small size—roughly half the weight of a standard AESA radar—PhantomStrike offers full-spectrum fire-control capabilities. It can conduct long-range detection of airborne threats, map terrain with exceptional detail, and support simultaneous tracking of multiple targets. Its integration of Raytheon’s CHIRP (Compact High-reliability Integrated Receiver/Exciter Processor) provides the radar with lightning-fast digital beam agility and multi-mode operation, enabling aircraft to transition instantly between air-to-air, air-to-ground, and navigation missions without compromising performance.

PhantomStrike’s compact dimensions and lower power requirements make it suitable for a wide range of platforms beyond just high-end fighter jets. These include light-attack aircraft, uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, and even ground-based towers. This versatility ensures that modern radar capabilities can be deployed across a broader array of assets, improving fleet-wide effectiveness without the cost of purchasing or developing entirely new aircraft.

Raytheon has also prioritized ease of integration and long-term flexibility by designing PhantomStrike with an open mission systems architecture. This means the radar can be upgraded or modified with new software and hardware as missions evolve, without requiring a complete system overhaul. For international partners and U.S. allies, this capability offers not just tactical advantage but long-term investment value. Approved for direct commercial sales (DCS), PhantomStrike can be delivered and fielded rapidly, without delays typically associated with government-to-government defense exports.

The radar is already in production at multiple sites, including facilities in Forest, Mississippi; Tucson, Arizona; and Scotland, with support from Raytheon UK. This multinational production base underscores Raytheon’s intent to meet growing international demand and strengthen global defense capabilities through scalable, future-ready technologies.

PhantomStrike is more than just a new radar—it is a strategic shift in how combat aircraft are equipped for modern warfare. By enabling advanced situational awareness, threat tracking, and targeting precision on a wide variety of platforms, Raytheon is redefining the boundaries of airborne combat systems. Whether mounted on next-generation UAVs, legacy aircraft, or mobile battlefield towers, PhantomStrike delivers the radar vision of a fifth-generation fighter to a much wider and more versatile range of platforms, reshaping the future of aerial combat with speed, power, and affordability.