RTX’s air dominance solutions for advanced fighters ensure that when pilots take to the skies, they can be confident that their systems will help them succeed during every mission, says Bryan Rosselli, president of Advanced Products & Solutions for Raytheon.

APS specializes in integrated air and missile defense, advanced sensors, space-based systems, hypersonics, effectors and cyber solutions. In an interview, Rosselli speaks about the company’s air dominance solutions, its presence in Korea and the APAC region, and the company’s partnerships with South Korean defence firms.

What are some of the air dominance solutions that RTX provides to its customers?

Controlling the skies and dictating the terms and conditions of a fight are critical to achieve air dominance. For that, pilots need a complete range of solutions, including threat detection, enhanced situational awareness, engagement and landing. Our solutions for advanced fighters ensure that when pilots take to the skies, they can be confident that their systems will help them succeed during every mission.

We specialize in using open architecture systems that allow for rapid upgrades and optimal scalability, while our radar, electro/optical infrared and electronic warfare technologies enable superior detection, range, targeting, tracking and protection.

We have a remarkable legacy in combat proven sensors, which include our APG-79 and APG-82 radars that are deployed on the F/A-18 and F-15, respectively. We are in production for the F-35 Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System and we have a suite of Electronic Warfare products, such as our Radar Warning Receivers (ALR-69), among other things.

How much of an impact has the coming together of Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace with Raytheon had on the company’s ability to provide air dominance and other military solutions to customers?

RTX is the world’s largest aerospace and defense company. As one RTX, we have three industry leading businesses – Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace, and Raytheon – engines, avionics, communications, sensors, effectors and mission equipment– all into one company. The intellectual capital and mission knowledge we have across the business is extraordinary.

RTX provides the ability to conduct high fidelity operational analysis and modeling of the platforms, mission equipment and weapons systems – all in one place. We can help imagine the next generation air dominance with high fidelity solutions that can be brought to life quickly. Together, we are an expert in air dominance and every part of our business plays a part in ensuring our customers keep their edge in the skies.

Look at the F-35 for example. Although we don’t make the fighter jet platform, we provide the backbone, the innards, the guts — that make the platform so incredible. We bring it to life with our capabilities.

Pratt & Whitney builds the engine, the F135 engine. Collins’ next-generation Helmet Mounted Display System for the F-35 gives pilots intuitive access to reams of flight, tactical, and sensor information providing advanced situational awareness, precision and safety. The helmet brings in data from Raytheon’s next-generation F-35 Distributed Aperture System, or DAS, which collects and sends real-time, high-resolution imagery to the helmet from six infrared cameras mounted around the aircraft.

Raytheon enables fighter pilots to dominate the airspace and complete direct attack, standoff and strike missions with precision. Weapons for the F-35 include the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, AMRAAM missile, JSM missile, wJSOW weapon, and StormBreaker smart weapon. Pilots can aim these weapons through our helmet.

And that F-35 example is just one small insight into the power of one RTX.

Advanced Products & Solutions is one of the new businesses established under the new RTX business which includes many Air Dominance products. What else can you tell me about the portfolio and the business’ mission?

Advanced Products & Solutions, or APS, is one of eight strategic businesses within Raytheon. Our business is unique; we’re known as the mission equipment supplier with the mission to be the premier supplier of advanced aerospace and defense products to aircraft OEMs, the U.S. government and ally nations. Our portfolio is expansive – spanning EO/IR, agile radars, space, imaging and microelectronics and many classified programs.

We have a storied legacy in radars. We led the radar revolution for nearly 40 years. We were the first to field an AESA radar and today our active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars are the cornerstone of current and future military aircraft — providing the exceptional performance and tactical advantages pilots and air crews need to stay ahead of ground and airborne threats.

One of our newest products is a low SWAP – Air Cooled AESA radar – PhantomStrike – is a GaN-powered array designed for SWaP-constrained air platforms, including UAVs, rotary wing, light attack and adversary aircraft. The total system is exceptionally light— weighing less than 150 pounds. About half the weight of modern fire control AESA radars.

When you’re in the cockpit—time is of the essence. We have a suite of Electronic Warfare products, including our Radar Warning Receiver – ALR-69, which gives pilots more time by giving them advanced situational awareness to see the threat before it sees them.

And the last one I’ll mention is the Raytheon Distributed Aperture System, or RDAS, which gives pilots 360-degree spherical situational awareness. It gives pilots eyes to see in the dark without night vision goggles. It also offers passive missile detection, autonomous threat tracking and obstacle avoidance.

RTX is upgrading Korea Aerospace Industries’ FA-50 aircraft with the PhantomStrike radar. What is the timeline for the upgrades?

Yes, we’re under contract with Korea Aerospace Industries to deliver the PhantomStrike radar for their FA-50 aircraft for Poland. We are expecting to make those deliveries in 2025.

The sale to KAI bolsters the Republic of Korea’s defense industry as PhantomStrike fire control ASEA will support KAI’s goal of selling aircraft worldwide to a variety of end-users with a state of the technology air-cooled, affordable radar.

Equally important is the fact our PhantomStrike radar will help enhance ROK’s allies’ air defense capabilities providing exceptional performance and tactical advantages that pilots and air crews need to stay ahead of ground and airborne threats. With digital beam forming and steering, multimode functionality and interleaved ground and air targeting, PhantomStrike will give KAI’s customers superior radar capability at nearly half the cost of typical fire control radars. It also has a mode weapons data link and we can integrate with both U.S. and foreign weapons.

The indigenous South Korea defense industry has grown at a fast pace in recent years. Is Raytheon open to partnerships, including joint ventures, with South Korean defence companies?

Though APS is a relatively new business, RTX’s partnership in Korea spans more than six decades. And our commitment to the Republic of Korea and our partners there is as resolute as ever.

Thanks to that longstanding relationship, we’ve been able to pursue several major collaborations in Korea, including partnerships with Hanwha, KAI, Korean Air, and LIGNex1 on various solutions in-country and for export. We understand Korea’s emphasis on the export market – as witnessed by our PhantomStrike partnership with KAI on their FA-50 export to Poland – and given our many decades long experience in exporting around the globe, we can be a great partner in helping Korean companies not only build critical systems for the defense of Korea, but for export to global markets.

LIGNex1 is a premier provider of Electronic Warfare systems in Korea. Raytheon has an extremely advanced and mature EW group. We signed an MOU with LIGNex1 to identify areas of collaboration and are excited to work with them as a partner. We look forward to collaborating with local industry to bring critical technologies to the warfighter and ensure mission success.

How important is South Korea and the Asia Pacific region for the military side of RTX’s business?

The APAC region is critical to our business. Our commitment and partnership in Korea stretch back 60 years. The region is a key growth market for APS and RTX.

We have and continue to support major programs in maritime, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance and air & missile defense domains such as Patriot, SM-2, RAM, Phalanx, AMRAAM and AIM-9X to South Korea and U.S. forces in-country. We will continue that legacy of collaboration and support, to help meet the needs of our APAC partners.