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Lockheed shows TPS-79 radar at DSEi
September 8th, 2009 | DSEI 2009 | Posted by Antonie Boessenkool
The TPS-79 radar developed by Lockheed Martin and Easat
LONDON – Lockheed Martin displayed its TPS-79 multi-mission surveillance radar system at DSEi, aiming at attracting customers looking for a quickly-deployable radar that can be a gap-filler for unsurveilled air space.
The next-generation medium-range system can be set up in less than 60 minutes and is comparatively light-weight, being made out of carbon composites, Lockheed and Easat representatives said. It can be a ground-based fixed or transportable system.
Lockheed teamed with U.K. radar antenna and systems maker Easat to build the system. Easat designed and builds the radar, while Lockheed provides the electronics, transmitter, receiver and trailer to transport the radar.
The two companies are aiming to compete the system for the United Kingdom’s Joint Military Air Traffic Systems contract, a GBP 2 billion deal to overhaul and run the military’s air traffic control infrastructure. Other competitors could include VT Group, Serco and Thales. Raytheon, BAE Systems, EADS and Selex could also be competitors, said Jim Bunnell of Lockheed at the show.
So far, Columbia has bought three of the systems, and one system is deployed with each of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, Bunnell said. An African country Burrell wouldn’t name has ordered three, and an unnamed European country has ordered 19 systems, he said. Lockheed and Easat also are eyeing military competitions expected in the next 12 months in Germany and the Netherlands, Burrell said.
The system has a “3-D” capability, Bunnell said, meaning it provides not just range and azimuth information, but elevation information too.
The radar has a range of 100 nautical miles as a surveillance tool and 80 nautical miles as an air traffic control system, Bunnell said.
Raytheon introduces SPY-5 radar
September 8th, 2009 | DSEI 2009 | Posted by Antonie Boessenkool
LONDON – Raytheon presented its new SPY-5 ship-based radar, still under development, at the DSEi show Tuesday.
The radar is an advanced phased-array X-band multi-function radar for naval surface combatants using features already available on other radar systems from Raytheon and other manufacturers, though in a smaller and more affordable system, Raytheon said. It can track multiple targets simultaneously, illuminate up to four targets at once and enables the “full performance” of the Evolved SeaSparrow missile, Raytheon said.
“It’s very effective for low-flying targets and quite effective as a horizon-search radar. The fact that it’s a multi-function radar allows it to do that function while it’s tracking targets or missile engagements and also while it’s doing terminal eliminations,” said Rick Wayshville, a senior engineering programs manager at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.
“Traditional systems today are typically mechanically-directed systems,” Wayshville said. The SPY-5 system would replace those mechanical directors with a passive-array system, with about half the weight of similar systems. Wayshville declined to name a price range, but said it would be no more expensive than similar systems.
It would be suitable for “any ship pretty much,” including carriers, off-shore patrol vessels and frigates, he said.
Raytheon has funded development of the SPY-5 internally, in part with the intention of exporting it, Wayshville said.
“We see it as having major market potential,” he said. “It’s competitively priced. More and more often, we are finding that navies around the world are strapped financially.
“The components that you’ll see that we’ve used in this system are fairly simple components. We’re reusing parts that have already been implemented internationally, successfully, very effectively. Ensuring that we have no issues with the ability to market the system internationally has been important to us.”
Raytheon began the SPY-5 development a year and a half ago, Wayshville said. The company expects the full system to finish development in the latter part of 2010, he said.