Chaotic oscillators are an intriguing source of waveforms for ultra wideband‐radar applications. The broadband and nonrepeating nature of chaos provides an ideal combination of high range resolution and no range ambiguity. In addition, synchronization via local coupling of array elements is an efficient alternative to the use of a master oscillator in a phased array. However, a difficulty in any wideband array is achieving a practical mechanism for beam steering. Conventional approaches using phase shifters are impractical for bandwidths exceeding just a few percent of the carrier frequency, and for larger bandwidths true time‐delay steering is required. Here, we explore the use of lag synchronization in a chaotic array to achieve steering. The natural frequency of each oscillator is adjusted using a variable capacitor to achieve a uniform lag across the array. To first order this tuning is equivalent to a standard method of inducing lag synchronization. The direction and extent of the steering is directly controlled by the orientation and magnitude of the induced lag. Using chaotic rf circuits, we experimentally show that lag synchronization can be achieved and controlled in arrays of rf devices. © 2004 American Institute of Physics