AN/AWG-9

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The AN/AWG-9 and AN/APG-71 radars are all-weather, multi-mode X band pulse-Doppler radar systems used in the F-14 Tomcat, and also tested on TA-3B.^[1] It is a long-range air-to-air system capable of guiding several AIM-54 Phoenix or AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles simultaneously, using its track while scan mode. The AWG-9 utilizes an analog computer while the APG-71 is an upgraded variant utilizing a digital computer. Both the AWG-9 and APG-71 were designed and manufactured by Hughes Aircraft Company's Radar Systems Group in Los Angeles; contractor support was later assumed by Raytheon. The AWG-9 was originally created for the canceled Navy F-111B program.^[2]

The AN/AWG-9 offers multiple air-to-air modes: long-range continuous-wave radar velocity search, range-while-search at shorter ranges, and an airborne track-while-scan mode with the ability to track up to 24 airborne targets, display 18 of them on the cockpit displays, and launch against 6 of them at the same time. This function was originally designed to allow the Tomcat to shoot down formations of bombers at long range.