Raytheon (RTX) has received a US Air Force contract to equip the autonomous X-62A VISTA test aircraft with its PhantomStrike® radar. The compact, air-cooled fire-control radar will support advanced flight testing of autonomy and artificial intelligence on the modified F-16 platform. Designed to be smaller, lighter, and more power-efficient than traditional AESA radars, PhantomStrike delivers multimode air and ground targeting at significantly lower cost, making it well-suited for autonomous and light aircraft applications. RTX writes:

December 19th, 2025 – 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.

Phantom Strike Vista
VISTA PS: X-62 VISTA begins upgrade program, expanding boundaries in flight testing of autonomy and artificial intelligence (Air Force photo by Lindsey Iniguez)
“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.

Read more here.