Army taps Raytheon for radar-guided surface-to-air missiles for anti-aircraft, missile-defense applications
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – U.S. Army air- and missile-defense experts needed advanced surface-to-air missiles for anti-aircraft and missile defense. They found their solution from Raytheon Technologies Corp.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., announced a $183.3 million contract Friday to the Raytheon Intelligence & Space segment in Tewksbury, Mass., for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS).
NASAMS is an adaptable mid-range air-defense system that consists of the Raytheon Sentinel radar, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), and the Fire Distribution Center from the Kongsberg Gruppen Defense & Aerospace segment in Kongsberg, Norway.
The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel is an X-band electronically steered pulse-Doppler 3D radar system used to alert and cue short range air defense weapons to the locations of hostile approaching targets.
Last year the Raytheon Missiles and Defense segment in Tucson, Ariz., unveiled a medium-range air and missile-defense radar for NASAMS called GhostEye MR. GhostEye MR is a 360-degree surveillance and fire-control sensor designed to detect, track, and identify cruise missiles, drones, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters.
GhostEye MR can operate as a stand-alone radar, or as a future sensor for NASAMS, which Raytheon has produced and supported in partnership with Kongsberg for more than 30 years.
GhostEye MR will provide increased range and altitude coverage for NASAMS. GhostEye MR's extended range also maximizes the capabilities of the AMRAAM Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER) variant.
NASAMS provides air defenders with a tailorable defense system that can identify, engage, and destroy current and evolving enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and emerging enemy cruise missiles.
NASAMS is owned by 12 countries and has been integrated into the U.S. National Capital Region’s air defense system since 2005. In addition to the U.S., Norway, Finland, Spain, The Netherlands, Oman, Lithuania, Indonesia, Australia, Qatar, Hungary, and one undisclosed country use NASAMS for homeland defense and the defense of critical assets, Raytheon officials say.
Built on a modular, distributed, open-hardware and software architecture, NASAMS continuously can accept new and evolving enabling technologies, in partnership with Kongsberg, Raytheon officials say.
Continuous upgrades can provide one of the most technologically advanced and combat-ready system in the world, Raytheon officials say. On this contract Raytheon will do the work in Tewksbury, Mass., and should be finished by August 2024.
For more information contact Raytheon Intelligence & Space online at www.raytheonintelligenceandspace.com, Raytheon Missiles & Defense at www.raytheonmissilesanddefense.com, Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace at www.kongsberg.com/kda, or the Army Contracting Command-Redstone at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-rsa.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
