GaN-based missile defense radars to be produced under Raytheon contract
NewsJune 29, 2020
WALTHAM, Mass. Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, received a $2.3 billion U.S. Missile Defense Agency production contract for seven gallium nitride (GaN)-based AN/TPY-2 radars as part of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which is designed to protect against incoming ballistic missile threats.
The contract is part of a foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
According to the company, the mobile AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar uses X-band to detect ballistic missile threats. The radar system is designed to operate in two modes: forward-based mode — which detects ballistic missiles and identifies any lethal objects as they rise after launch — and terminal mode as part of the THAAD system, which guides interceptors toward a descending missile's warhead.
Of the 14 AN/TPY-2 radars produced, seven are fielded as a part of U.S.-operated THAAD systems, five operate in forward-based mode for the U.S., and two are part of foreign military sales.
