Northrop Grumman has announced that its AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) Blocks 1 and 2 have passed the initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E).
Designed for the US Marine Corps (USMC), AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR is an advanced, multi-mission active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
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G/ATOR is capable of providing real-time, 360° situational awareness to allow troops to detect and respond to modern threats, including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and unmanned autonomous systems (UAS).
Before a new system is introduced to the fleet, it is put through a rigorous phase of testing IOT&E to test its effectiveness.
Successful completion of the IOT&E demonstrates the viability and suitability of the system.
It will also enable the USMC to operate and field G/ATOR Blocks 1 and 2 in their current configuration.
Northrop Grumman land and avionics C4ISR vice-president Christine Harbison said: “Through our close partnership with the Marine Corps, we have been able to successfully achieve the IOT&E milestone and begin fielding this radar system with unrivalled mission capability to operational units.
“We are proud to deliver hardware enabled, software-defined advanced ground radar systems that meet our customer’s mission needs, protect the warfighter in a rapidly changing threat environment, and have a significant margin for capability growth.”
In July last year, the company delivered the first AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR equipped with advanced high-power and high-efficiency gallium nitride (GaN) antenna technology.
GaN systems were used for development test (DT) 1E1, DT1E2 and IOT&E
Northrop Grumman has so far delivered eight production systems to the Marine Corps. In 2017, the service received six low-rate initial production systems.
