Raytheon [RTN] said Tuesday it has successfully completed initial testing of the first antenna array for the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) it’s producing for the Army’s program to replace the Patriot defense system’s current radar.
The first test consisted of calibrating the LTAMDS primary antenna array in an indoor, climate-controlled test range, with plans in place now for a test at outdoor range against real-world targets.
“Concluding these initial tests brings Raytheon one step closer to putting LTAMDS into the hands of service members,” Tom Laliberty, the company’s vice president of integrated air and missile defense, said in a statement. “Raytheon and our supplier partners continue to make the right investments in people, technology and manufacturing capability to ensure we meet the U.S. Army’s urgent materiel release.”
Raytheon, which builds Patriot and its current radar, beat out Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Lockheed Martin [LMT] for LTAMDS last October, receiving an initial deal worth upward of $384 million to deliver six production representative systems (Defense Daily, Oct. 17).
The company’s LTAMDS radar is a 360-degree, Active Electronically Scanned Array capability powered by Gallium Nitride technology, which consists of a primary antenna array in the front and two secondary radars on the rear of the system.
“The radar antennas work together to enable operators to simultaneously detect and engage multiple threats from any direction, ensuring there are no blind spots on the battlefield,” Raytheon wrote in a statement.
Raytheon officials have previously estimated that LTAMDS will be worth at least $20 billion over the life of the program (Defense Daily, Oct. 24).