Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems has been awarded a $9.2 million contract from TKC Aerospace, of Charleston, S.C., to upgrade U.S. Customs and Border Protection C-550 Citation Tracker aircraft with its Vixen 500E intercept radar and associated mission management system. The contract represents a further inroad in the United States market by the Finmeccanica-owned company, which is supplying the Seaspray 7500 E radar for U.S. Coast Guard HC-130Hs.

The Vixen 500E is an Active Electronically Scanning Array (AESA) radar providing air-to-air and air-to-surface surveillance. It is comprised of a processor/receiver and AESA antenna.

“This upgrade program will not only improve the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the C-550 Citation fleet, but it will lower life cycle support costs, primarily due to the order-of-magnitude improvement in system reliability compared with equivalent conventional radars,” said Patrick Geraghty, executive vice president, Radar Systems, for Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems US, based in Arlington, Va.