Lockheed Martin has completed the production of its first AN/TPY-4, a ground-based air defense radar selected by the US Air Force in March to replace the obsolete AN/TPS-75 long-range radar.
“Lockheed Martin is committed to investing in advanced defense technology, and the TPY-4 radar is a direct result of those investments,” Lockheed Martin program director Rick Herodes said in a statement.
“TPY-4 meets the needs of a rapidly changing battlefields, marked by technological growth and the emergence of increasingly challenging threats.”
The “Tipsy 75” which it will replace has been in service since 1968 as the principal USAF radar to track, detect, and report aerial targets such as aircraft and missiles.
Under the latest contract, Lockheed will produce up to 35 AN/TPY-4 radars.
AN/TPY-4 Radar
According to Lockheed Martin, the radar’s “fully digital, software-defined sensor architecture” allows for “more enhanced target identification and classification,” unlike the less digital previous-generation radars that have to “account for downtime for time-consuming actions, like hardware upgrades or manual data transfers.”
The radar system can detect smaller, harder-to-detect next-generation threats in heavy clutter.
It can be transportable or fixed and is capable of being transported and operated in contested environments.