RTX’s Raytheon to equip U.S. Air Force autonomous fighter jet with PhantomStrike® radar

PhantomStrike will provide VISTA aircraft with superior battlespace situational awareness

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, announced today that it has received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to equip the autonomous X-62A Variable In-flight Simulation Test Aircraft (VISTA) with a PhantomStrike® radar. VISTA is a modified F-16D Block 30 test aircraft upgraded with Block 40 avionics, a hybrid used as a test bed integrated with machine learning and specialized software.

PhantomStrike is a first-of-its-kind, air-cooled and compact fire-control radar that is smaller, lighter and requires less power than modern AESA radars. It’s designed for a wide range of platforms, including uncrewed aerial vehicles, light-attack aircraft, and rotary-wing aircraft.

“Autonomous aircraft are poised to play a key role in helping the U.S. maintain air superiority, and Raytheon’s PhantomStrike radar is uniquely designed to help them do it,” said Dan Theisen, president of Advanced Products & Solutions at Raytheon. “This radar is revolutionary in its use of GaN, completely air-cooled technology, and innovation in how we manufacture it – at a lower cost than other modern-day radars.”

With digital beam forming and steering, multimode functionality and interleaved ground and air targeting, PhantomStrike delivers superior radar capability at nearly half the cost of typical fire control radars.

About Raytheon

Raytheon, an RTX business, is a leading provider of defense solutions to help the U.S. government, our allies and partners defend their national sovereignty and ensure their security. For more than 100 years, Raytheon has developed new technologies and enhanced existing capabilities in integrated air and missile defense, smart weapons, missiles, advanced sensors and radars, interceptors, space-based systems, hypersonics and missile defense across land, air, sea and space.

About RTX

RTX is the world’s largest aerospace and defense company. With more than 185,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems for operational success, and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2024 sales of more than $80 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact corporatepr@rtx.com

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SOURCE RTX