Army approaches industry for advanced radar able to provide guidance for future hypervelocity weapons
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – U.S. Army sensors experts are reaching out to industry to find companies able to build four prototype surveillance radar systems by fall 2027 that are able to guide Army hypervelocity weapons to their targets.
Officials of the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO)at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., issued a revised request for white papers (RFWP) on Tuesday for the Multifunction Precision Radar (MFPR) Block 2 project.
Multi-Function Precision Radar (MFPR)
Officials of the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) at Fort Belvoir, Va., issued a request for information on Monday for the Multi-Function Precision Radar (MFPR) project.
Army officials want a company able to deliver at least four MFPR prototypes no later than fall 2027 for operational demonstrations in 2028, and later for possible deployment.
Multi-function precision radars should perform not only search, detection, and precision tracking of incoming threats, but also provide Army hypervelocity projectiles with the ability via datalink to navigate, fuze accurately, and possibly even provide battle damage assessment.
The multi-function radar would provide accurate and low-latency detection of hostile threats and help guide future Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System (MDACS) projectiles at long ranges and in bad weather conditions like heavy rain, snow, wind, and dust. MDACS is to be new development program next year for air and missile defense against cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft.
Hypervelocity Projectile
The MFPR is to track the cannon-fired Hypervelocity Projectile, as well as incoming threats, and help guide the munition to incoming threats using external government-furnished Command and Control Battle Manager (C2BM) and the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS).
The MFPR must be accurate enough to help the hypervelocity projectile intercept incoming threats. What's significant is the hypervelocity projectile does not have an onboard seeker. Hypervelocity projectiles fly through the air at speeds of 8 or 9 times the speed of sound.
Developing this kind of multi-function precision radar technology has the potential to help drive down the costs of air- and missile-defense munitions by enabling these weapons to operate without expensive onboard seekers and guidance systems.
Radar track data
The MFPR Prototypes should perform in an operational band that is available or could be available for military use worldwide; provide precision radar track data to support projectiles in flight via a communications link; provide long-range high-precision angular coverage for search detection; be able to detect threats and friendly projectiles; operable in high-clutter environments; interface with government-furnished command and control; and demonstrate supportability, safety, and cyber security.
Companies interested should email 10-page classified white papers no later than 15 Jan. 2025 to the Army's Joshua Flinn at [email protected] and Barbara Cantrell at [email protected].
Email questions to Flinn and Cantrell by 15 Jan. 2025 More information is online at https://sam.gov/opp/cedfb9e063bc44f9861b6b5996e83575/view.
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.
