US Air Force Upgrades F-16 Radar Test Systems at Its Only Radome Tuning and Antenna Repair Shop

The US Air Force's 523rd Electronic Maintenance Squadron at Hill Air Force Base has upgraded specialised equipment used to test and repair F-16 radar antennas and nose radomes. The unit, the service's sole source for this work, processes approximately 160 fire-control radar antennas and 70 radomes each year using the Fire Control Radar Antenna Test System and Nose Radome Electrical Test System. These systems check antenna beam alignment, radiation patterns and transmission performance, as well as distortion caused by radome damage or materials. The improvements support depot-level sustainment and fault diagnosis rather than changing the F-16's operational radar model.