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| Raytheon headquarters in Waltham, Mass. Photo: Wikipedia |
[Avionics Today 10-07-2014] The U.S. Air Force has awarded Raytheon a $19.5 million contract for engineering and manufacturing development of a new expeditionary radar. The radar will detect, identify and track drones, missiles and aircraft.
The total contract, including all options, is currently estimated at $71.8 million and includes the procurement of three additional radar systems, for a total of six radar systems and product support. The radar, called the Three Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radar (3DELRR), is one of the first programs under the Department of Defense’s Better Buying Power initiative to be designed for exportability.
Raytheon’s 3DELRR system is a Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based radar that operates in the C-band of the radio frequency spectrum. By using GaN, the company states it was able to affordably increase the radar’s range, sensitivity and search capabilities. C-band also offers the military increased flexibility because that portion of the spectrum is relatively uncongested.