Competition, it is said, brings out the best–and worst–in companies. The sheer size of the Indian buy has caused radar firms to think about trying to fit their kit into aircraft that was previously thought of as “the other guy’s territory.” Russia’s Phazotron and NIIP are not likely to be happy about the possibility of Thales and Israel Aircraft Industries putting their radars on MiG and Sukhoi aircraft, as they would not relish the idea of losing a 100+ unit sale to anyone.

But, the real bloodletting may end up being between Northrop Grumman and Raytheon in the U.S. Seeing the possibility of squeezing in on a new platform, Raytheon has offered a scaled-down version of the APG-79, designated the Raytheon Advanced Next-Generation Radar (RANGER), to be fitted on board the F-16 Block 50 as an alternative option for the Indian tender.

Northrop Grumman, not be outdone, has decided to try to rain on Raytheon’s parade by proposing a version of the Lockheel Martin F-22A Raptor’s APG-77 radar for the U.S. Air Force’s F-15 upgrade program in place of the Raytheon APG-63(V)3 upgrade. “This version of the APG-77 was developed back when the USAF had the Raptor designated as the F/A-22 and was determined to make it fully multirole,” said an Northrop Grumman spokesman.