Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD -- The APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) program was honored by the Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine as the winner of the publication's prestigious Laurel Award. A special awards event was held April 8 at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The Laurel was awarded in electronics to the AESA team and specifically to the radar's program managers, Cmdr. Dave Dunaway of NAVAIR PMA265, Tom Kennedy of Raytheon, and Don Thole, of the Boeing Company. The Aerospace Laurels honor individuals and teams for significant contributions to the global field of aerospace.

"Tom Kennedy, Don Thole and I had the honor of receiving the Aviation Week Laurel Award for the AESA program," said Dunaway. "It is an impressive event with an even more impressive cast of honorees, awardees and staff members. Although the three of us were named on the award, we are well aware that the award really belongs to the 600-plus government/industry team members who have worked so hard bringing the program to the strong position it is in today. For those of you on the team, congratulations and thank you for your hard work."

The AESA radar system, built for the F/A-18E/F, replaces existing mechanically scanned antennas with a radar beam that can be steered at close to the speed of light. Dunaway credits the program's success to the inventive acquisition strategy and the compressed timeline put together by a team of government and industry personnel.

The AESA team was honored along with Laurel award winners from other categories. Winners will be featured in the magazine's April 21 edition.

NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts. From professional training to carrier launch; from sensor data to precision targeting; from aircraft and weapons development to successful deployment; from real-time communication to aircraft recovery NAVAIR provides dominant combat effects and matchless capabilities to the American warfighter.

For more information about the AESA program please contact Denise Deon Wilson, Public Affairs Officer for PEO-T at 301-481-6263 or [email protected].