Lockheed-Northrop venture lands $420M Apache radar deal

The U.S. Army has awarded Longbow LLC a $419.6 million contract to supply fire control radar systems and post-production support for the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, keeping work on the Apache’s distinctive mast-mounted radar going into the next decade.

The contract, announced on Oct. 22, 2026, covers the AH-64D and AH-64E versions of the helicopter and runs through Jan. 31, 2032. It combines cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price terms, and work locations and funding will be set with each individual order. Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, solicited one bid and received one.

Longbow LLC, based in Orlando, Florida, is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman that builds the AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar. The radar sits in the rounded dome mounted above the Apache’s main rotor, which lets the helicopter scan the battlefield while staying hidden behind trees, hills or buildings.

The radar automatically searches for, detects, locates, classifies and prioritizes multiple moving or stationary targets on land and in the air, and it works in bad weather and through battlefield smoke and dust. The latest Version 6 software added a maritime mode for tracking vessels, single-target tracking, a 360-degree surveillance mode and longer detection range against land, air and sea targets.

Post-production support is a major part of the Longbow business. Such work typically covers program and logistics management, repair of radar modules, replenishment of depot spare parts, field engineering support and training for operators and maintainers, as described in Longbow’s earlier sustainment contracts. In 2020, the U.S. Army awarded Longbow a five-year contract worth up to $235.8 million to provide that support to international Apache operators, covering 12 foreign military customers in 11 nations at the time.

The radar is in service far beyond the U.S. Army. Longbow delivered its 500th fire control radar in 2020, to the Qatar Emiri Air Force, and the customer base later grew to 16 foreign militaries in 14 nations after Morocco, the Netherlands and the Indian Army joined the program alongside an upgrade for the United Arab Emirates.

The new award follows a steady run of Longbow contracts. In July 2025, the U.S. Army issued a $348.3 million modification for fire control radar systems, and in late 2024 the company received a $24.6 million order for radar electronic units and ground support spares for Australia and Kuwait.

Individual orders under the new contract will set the specific work and funding for U.S. and international Apache fleets through the January 2032 completion date.