Romania bolsters air surveillance, weather prediction with Lockheed Martin radars

SYRACUSE, N.Y., 23 Feb. 2016. Officials in Romania wanted increased situational awareness, including enhanced air surveillance and weather radar capabilities. They found their solution at Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) in Syracuse, N.Y., and agreed to purchase two new TPS-77 radars. The next-generation radars will include Lockheed Martin’s new Digital Array Row Transceivers (DART), for increased energy efficiency and performance.

Romania and Lockheed Martin enjoy a partnership that dates to 1995 and includes more than two dozen ground-based radars.

"For over 20 years, Lockheed Martin and Romania have built a strong partnership to enhance Romania's air surveillance and weather radar network," says Mark Mekker, Lockheed Martin director, surveillance radar. "The feedback we receive from our ongoing collaborations with countries like Romania leads to the development of system enhancements, like DART."

The TPS-77 DART uses Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology, allowing the high-power amplifiers to consume much less power, ultimately increasing reliability, lowering life-cycle costs and extending the useful life of the radar, officials describe. Lockheed Martin has been using GaN in its radars for more than six years.

Lockheed Martin has produced and maintains more than 175 surveillance-range radars, which are operational around the world detecting targets at ranges up to 250 miles, 24 hours a day. These radars are capable of operating unmanned and many have performed for decades in remote, inhospitable areas and in a wide range of operational environments.

No Lockheed Martin FPS-117/TPS-77 radar has ever been taken out of service and the systems continue to operate well beyond their original 20-year service lives (many planned to operate for more than 40 years), officials say.

Work on the TPS-77 radars will be done in Syracuse, N.Y.

Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is a global security and aerospace company that – with the addition of Sikorsky – employs approximately 126,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services.