Northrop Grumman Wins $124 Million Navy Contract for F-35 APG-85 Radar Materials

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. has received a Navy contract worth up to $123.8 million to buy long-lead materials, parts and components for 67 F-35 APG-85 production radars for the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. The work is intended to protect the radars’ delivery schedule rather than deliver completed radars under this award. Naval Air Systems Command awarded the fixed-price incentive contract, with work to be performed in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, through February 2031.

F-35 APG-85 Radar Details

Northrop Grumman will procure the material and carry out associated work needed ahead of production of the 67 radars. The advance purchase addresses components that must be obtained before radar manufacturing can be completed, helping keep radar deliveries aligned with the F-35 production schedule.

The Air Force’s aircraft procurement budget justification describes a two-phase approach to APG-85 advance procurement. Its examples of long-lead material include microcircuits, connectors, magnet assemblies, transceiver kits, signal processors, radiator structures and amplifiers. The budget document describes the broader procurement approach; the award notice does not assign quantities of those components to this contract.

F-35 Radar Modernization Background

The APG-85 is intended to replace the APG-81 radar on U.S. F-35s. The government procures the radar separately from the aircraft, making coordination between radar availability and aircraft production important. The Air Force’s FY2027 procurement justification continues to plan advance purchases in separate phases with different lead times.

The Navy’s F-35B Block 4 budget exhibit lists an APG-85 upgrade, with projected contracts beginning in fiscal 2026 and deliveries beginning in fiscal 2028. Those are program planning dates, distinct from the February 2031 completion date for this long-lead award.

Award and Contractor Background

The award was not competitively procured. Northrop Grumman also holds a related Lot 6 APG-85 long-lead contract with a potential value of $145.8 million and a performance end date of March 2029. Like the new award, that contract covers materials, parts and associated work intended to protect radar deliveries for the three services.

A separate Joint Program Office notice describes planned APG-85 replenishment-spares actions for Lots 6 through 8. Those planned spares purchases address sustainment needs, while the newly awarded contract covers long-lead inputs for production radars.

This award was disclosed by the DoW in its daily press release. Additional contract details will be available on HigherGov in approximately 90 days under N0001926C1022 after the contract is formally disclosed by the government.