Northrop Grumman has received a $958m contract from the US Marine Corps (USMC) to provide an additional 30 gallium nitride-based (GaN) AN/TPS-80 ground/air task-oriented radar (G/ATOR) systems.
The contract for Lot 6 full-rate production of G/ATOR radar systems also includes spares parts and retrofit kits.
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Radar systems are being procured under a plan managed by Program Executive Officer Land Systems.
Northrop Grumman land and avionics C4ISR vice-president Christine Harbison said: “Northrop Grumman and the Marine Corps have successfully partnered to create a best of ground and airborne radar solution that exceeds the current threat on the modern battlefield.
“G/ATOR is a crucial capability that protects our warfighters and defends against today’s threat environment and the threat environment of the future.
“We are excited to reach the full-rate production decision and continue providing advanced multi-mission functionality that meets our customer’s mission needs, protects the warfighter in a rapidly changing threat environment, and has significant margin for capability growth.”
The Marine Corps intends to use G/ATOR to replace five legacy systems with a single system.
The move will deliver improved performance when compared to the legacy radar families in each of its modes, leading to reduced training, logistics and maintenance costs.
Northrop Grumman’s AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR is an advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) multi-mission radar. The company delivered the first GaN G/ATOR system to the Marine Corps in July last year.
The service declared initial operational capability (IOC) of the G/ATOR system in February that year.
G/ATOR is a three-dimensional, short-to-medium-range multi-role radar system designed to provide real-time situational awareness against a range of threats.
The system can detect, identify, and track cruise missiles, manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as rockets, mortars and artillery fire.
Last month, the company announced that AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR Blocks 1 and 2 passed the initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E).
