At what distance does the AWG-9 detect a bomber?

Short answer

The F-14's AN/AWG-9 could detect large bombers at over 150 nautical miles (NM). Against smaller targets, such as fighters, the estimated tracking distance dropped to about 90 NM. The system could track up to 24 targets at once and allow six of them to be fired upon simultaneously.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

At what distance does the AWG-9 detect a bomber?

F-14A Tomcat over Iraq during Southern Watch

A radar that looked very far

The AWG-9 system's radar could detect large bombers at ranges beyond 150 NM. Against smaller targets such as fighters, the estimated tracking range was about 90 NM. At the opposite end of the spectrum, low-flying cruise missiles skimming the waves at 50 ft altitude have been tracked and destroyed by the combination of the AWG-9 and the AIM-54 at a range of 22 NM.

Twenty-four targets at once

The AWG-9 weapons control system could track up to 24 targets at the same time and allow six of them to be engaged simultaneously. In the air track-while-scan mode it tracked up to 24 aerial targets, displayed 18 of them on the cockpit screens and launched against six at once. In that TWS mode, the maximum of 24 tracked targets was combined with engagement of six out to about 60 mi (97 km).

Where the concept came from

Before the Tomcat, US Navy studies of a fleet defence aircraft led to the 1959 Douglas F6D Missileer project, a large, subsonic aircraft with little ability to evade supersonic fighters or defend itself once its missiles had been fired, cancelled in December 1961. The Tomcat was developed for the US Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) programme after the collapse of the General Dynamics and Grumman F-111B project. It made its first deployment in 1974 with the US Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.