Coast Guard looks to ITT Exelis for long-range surveillance radar for HC-130J aircraft

CLIFTON, N.J., 11 March 2013. U.S. Coast Guard leaders needed a long-range surveillance radar for the service's fleet of HC-130J Super Hercules long-range surveillance aircraft. They found their solution from the ITT Exelis Electronic Systems segment in Clifton, N.J.

The Coast Guard awarded Exelis a $6.5 million contract to supply the AN/APY-11 multimode radar system to support the service’s maritime reconnaissance mission on the Lockheed Martin HC-130J four-engine turboprop aircraft. The contract was announced last week.

The AN/APY-11 multimode radar is designed to support Coast Guard missions such as long-range surveillance, drug interdiction, and counter-terrorism, Exelis officials say. First provided to the Coast Guard under a 2005 contract, the AN/APY-11 multimode radar is produced by Exelis and partner the ELTA Systems Ltd. segment of Israel Aerospace Industries in Ashdod, Israel.

The AN/APY-11 maritime, littoral, and surveillance radar on the Coast Guard HC-130J helps air crews intercept drug smugglers, locate stranded boats, and track ice in the North Atlantic. The radar also can help map oil spills.

This radar has been installed for 360-degree coverage in the aircraft belly and nose, and can detect and track ships, aircraft, ground moving vehicles, and search and rescue transponders at ranges as far as 200 nautical miles. The system's high-resolution synthetic aperture radar also can provide imaging of ships, terrain, and coastal features.

The radar system can display more than 1,000 targets in search and moving-target modes, and works together with an integrated cue to electro-optical forward-looking infrared sensor systems.

The AN/APY-11's imaging capability can provide range signature for instant view of ship size and features; inverse synthetic aperture radar detailed imaging of ships at sea for classification; circular synthetic aperture radar detailed imaging of ships in harbors and coastal waters for classification; spot synthetic aperture radar for high resolution imaging and large area imaging of land and sea; and strip synthetic aperture radar for continuous imaging for strip maps as wide as 35 nautical miles.

The system also can provide a six-color navigation and weather picture -- including turbulence -- as well as real beam mapping. Software tools can help create ship libraries for target and type identification in real time, and the system can provide several combinations of its radar modes simultaneously.

The HC-130J aircraft performs maritime surveillance in areas that cannot be patrolled efficiently by medium-range surveillance aircraft or Coast Guard surface ships. The aircraft also provides heavy air transport for maritime safety and security teams, port security units and National Strike Force personnel and equipment.

For more information contact ITT Exelis Electronic Systems online at www.exelisinc.com/business/electronicsys, or the U.S. Coast Guard at www.uscg.mil.