Lockheed Martin has given Northrop Grumman its first production order for APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar as part of its upgrade for Taiwanese F-16 fighters.

The order -- for 142 SABR units -- came just four months after Northrop Grumman completed all design reviews of the system.

"The maturity of SABR's design, coupled with our very experienced radar team, enabled us to bring all design reviews to a successful completion less than one year after contract award," said Jeff Leavitt, vice president, combat avionics systems business unit, Northrop Grumman. "The experience we have gained providing the radar for every F-16 in service, as well as for the F-22 and F-35, was invaluable in getting us to this point and will continue to guide us as we move toward production."

The APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar is a multi-function, active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar and provides fifth-generation air-to-air and air-to-ground radar capability to the F-16 by enhancing situational awareness, targeting and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

Northrop Grumman said the first production SABR system will be delivered to Lockheed Martin next year.