Raytheon has completed construction of the first radar antenna array for the U.S. Army’s Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS), the company announced on Friday. The LTAMDS will help the service branch defeat advanced threats, including hypersonic weapons.
"Raytheon's employees and partners are focused on delivering the first LTAMDS by the Army's Urgent Material Release date because we know how important expanded battlespace coverage and other capabilities are to the men and women in uniform," said Tom Laliberty, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business.
The LTAMDS are comparable to Raytheon’s Patriot radar array. The company will advance the missile to double its performance. After Raytheon tests the radar array, it will be mounted on a precision-machined enclosure for integration and further evaluation.
The enclosure will utilize its advanced design to accelerate the manufacturing and to support the U.S. Army's Urgent Materiel Release program.
"Because we invested in cutting-edge radar technology and advanced manufacturing capability, we will meet the customer's critical milestones and get LTAMDS in the field rapidly," continued Laliberty.
Raytheon completed the work less than 120 days after securing the $384 million, firm-fixed price contract in Oct. 2019. The Army used an “other transaction authority” procedure for the award covering delivery and test of six Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor prototypes over a three-year period.
The company submitted its LTAMDS proposal in July and said its proposed system employs a gallium nitride-based active electronically scanned array radar.
Raytheon worked with six technology suppliers as part of its contract pursuit, including Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Cummings Aerospace, IERUS Technologies, Kord Technologies, Mercury Systems and nLogic.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.