Raytheon wins $152.9 million contract to provide 53 airborne radar systems for P-8A Poseidon
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 16 June 2015. Radar experts at the Raytheon Co. will provide the U.S. Navy with 53 advanced airborne radar systems for the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol, surveillance, and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced a $152.9 million contract last week to the Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems segment in McKinney, Texas, to provide AN/APY-10 radar systems for U.S. and Australian P-8A aircraft.
The radar systems are for lots 2 through 6 of the P-8A full-rate production aircraft. There are about 16 P-8A aircraft in one production lot. Raytheon will provide 46 radars for the U.S. Navy and seven for the government of Australia.
The P-8A is a specially hardened and reinforced version of the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet, and is designed to operate either at extremely low altitudes or at high altitudes over the ocean to search for potentially hostile submarines. The P-8A is designed to withstand the rigors of low-altitude turbulence and exposure to salt spray.
The Poseidon is replacing the P-3 Orion for long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare. The aircraft is equipped with anti-ship missiles, sophisticated torpedoes, sonobuoys, radar, and signals-intelligence gear. The Navy plans to buy 117 P-8As to replace its P-3 fleet.
The Raytheon AN/APY-10 maritime, littoral and overland surveillance radar is a new design for the P-8A. Compared with the previous-generation AN/APS-137 radar, the AN/APY-10 has reduced size, weight and power (SWaP); additional target track capability, a new color weather avoidance mode, and room for technology growth, Raytheon officials say.
The AN/APY-10 is integrated into the Boeing mission control and display system aboard the Poseidon for control, display and data distribution. The radar also will provide ultra-high-resolution imaging modes for maritime and overland operations.
The radar fits in the nose of the Poseidon. On this contract Raytheon will do the work in McKinney, Texas; Chelmsford, Mass.; Little Falls, N.J.; San Carlos, Calif.; Black Mountain, N.C.; Ontario, Canada; Ashburn, Va.; Poway, Calif.; Simsbury, Conn.; Sunnyvale, Calif.; Philadelphia; Boston; and other locations, and should be finished by August 2021.
For more information contact Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems online at www.raytheon.com, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
