GaN ground radar now operational for Marine Corps
NewsJuly 31, 2018
BALTIMORE, Md. Northrop Grumman reports that it has delivered the first AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) that incorporates advanced high power and high efficiency gallium nitride (GaN) antenna technology, further improving the system?s operational capabilities.
Delivery of the first GaN G/ATOR system, to the U.S. Marine Corps, follows the delivery of six low-rate initial production (LRIP) systems to the Marines that began in early 2017. Using two of those six systems, the Marine Corps achieved G/ATOR Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the air surveillance system during February 2018. The remaining four systems will establish IOC for the counterbattery mission in late 2018.
The AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR, according to Northrop Grumman officials, is an advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) multimission radar that enables comprehensive real-time, 360-degree situational awareness against a broad array of threats including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned autonomous systems (UAS), and airborne artillery. Its up-to-date cyber and digital beamforming technology enables the radar to perform multimission tasks at significantly lower operation and maintenance costs as compared to existing USMC radar systems, says Northrop Grumman.
Both the USMC and Northrop Grumman continue to plan to execute the full-rate production program, scheduled to begin in early 2019.
