Raytheon to support air-defense radar system to counter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and helicopters
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – RF and microwave experts at Raytheon Technologies Corp. (RTX) will support the AN/MPQ-64 Enhanced Sentinel A3 radar systems under terms of a $48.1 million contract announced on Friday.
Officials of the U.S. Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., are asking the RTX Raytheon segment in Fullerton, Calif., to support these radars for persistent air surveillance and fire control to protect against unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters.
The Enhanced Sentinel radar uses an X-Band 360-degree phased array air-defense radar with a 46-mile range. It has electronic counter-counter-measure capabilities, a Mode 5 identification friend or foe subsystem, and non-cooperative target recognition capabilities to identify threat aircraft.
Sentinel, its generator, and command-and-control interface mount on a trailer that a M1082 truck can pull. The air-defense system interfaces with the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) battle command system architecture, the Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control System (FAAD-C2I), and the National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense Command and Control System.
Sentinel also interfaces with the Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar (C-RAM) Increment I system to protect friendly aircraft.
The Enhanced Sentinel radar has upgraded signal processing to switch to active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology. It is the only 360-degree coverage air-defense radar in the Army’s current inventory and features a 3 DX band phased array antenna.
The Enhanced Sentinel radar has a modernized radar control terminal (RCT) with a Linux-based software operating system, an Ethernet router for integration with the IAMD architecture. This adds the identification friend or foe Mode V capability to prevent fratricide and replaces obsolete processor cards.
On this contract Raytheon will do the work in Fullerton, Calif., and will be finished by December 2027. For more information contact RTX Raytheon online at www.rtx.com/raytheon, or the Army Contracting Command-Redstone at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-rsa/.
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.
