Lockheed Martin to unveil next generation air, missile defense radar demonstrator

Lockheed Martin recently announced plans to unveil its next generation air and missile defense radar demonstrator at the annual Space & Missile Defense Symposium this week in Huntsville, Alabama.

The active electronically scanned array (AESA) Radar for Engagement and Surveillance (ARES) is a representative full-scale prototype of the technology to support a 360-degree capable sensor that the U.S. Army will use to address current and emerging air and ballistic missile threats.

This fractional array will replace the aging Patriot MPQ-65 radar.

“Incremental upgrades to the existing Patriot radar no longer address current sustainment issues, current threat performance shortcomings, or provide growth for future and evolving threats,” Mark Mekker, director of next generation radar systems at Lockheed Martin, said. “Lockheed Martin is prepared to offer a next generation missile defense system that will leverage advances in radar technology to provide a modular, scalable architecture and reduce the total cost of ownership well over its 30 year lifecycle.”

The technology utilizes gallium nirtride (GaN) transmitter technology and advanced signal processing techniques including 360-degree sensor/fire control algorithms based on advanced threat sets.

The AESA technology is also used in the AN/TP/Q-53 radar system, which Lockheed Martin designed, developed and delivered to the Army and which continues to be scaled to address emerging threats.

“Our solution for the U.S. Army’s new air and missile defense sensor is not a new-start program,” Mekker said. “It’s a combination of technology maturation over several years and includes capability leveraged from our current development programs and battlefield-proven radars. We rely heavily on our modern radar systems such as the Q-53 and the Long Range Discrimination Radar to rapidly bring low-risk, proven technology to the warfighter. We look forward to the opportunity to participate in this competition that will ultimately drive up performance and reduce costs for the U.S. Army.”