TEWKSBURY, Mass., June 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Militaries of
the future will soon have access to a single radar capable of
protecting troops' backs from threats such as ballistic and cruise
missiles, and drones. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) recently
completed a series of milestones, bringing the combat-proven
Patriot Air and Missile Defense System with 360-degrees of coverage
one step closer to production readiness.
The milestones involve upgrading the Patriot' radar main array with Gallium Nitride-
(GaN) based Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)
technology. Completion of those milestones keep Raytheon
engineers, who are currently building a GaN-based AESA full size
main panel radar array, on track to having the system up and
running in early 2016.
"A GaN-based AESA radar benefits netted sensors, and gives
Patriot greater capability and reliability while significantly
reducing operations and sustainment cost," said Ralph Acaba, vice president of Integrated Air
and Missile Defense at Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems
business. "Raytheon recognizes how important this capability is for
the warfighter and is investing its own resources to bring
Patriot's GaN-based AESA radar to the point where it can enter
engineering and manufacturing development with low risk."
The main AESA array is a bolt-on replacement antenna that
measures roughly 9' wide x 13' tall, which is oriented toward the
primary threat. Patriot's new rear panel arrays, which are a
quarter the size of the main array, let the system look behind and
to the sides of the main array, enabling Patriot to engage threats
in all directions. Earlier this year, Raytheon built a
GaN-based AESA Patriot rear-panel array, integrated it with the
current Patriot radar using the existing, recently modernized,
backend processing hardware and software, and tracked targets of
opportunity to seamlessly create a 360-degree view.
The milestones accomplished to date include fabricating the main
radar array's superstructure, and completing development work on
the power and cooling sub-systems. In the months ahead,
additional upgrades will focus on integrating the sub-systems and
populating the array superstructure with GaN-based transmit-receive
units (TRLRU). The GaN TRLRUs are the heart of the radar and
are identical to the ones used for the rear-panel arrays, and are
made in the same Mass.-based GaN foundry currently producing GaN
chips for Navy and Air Force defensive systems.
The GaN-based AESA Patriot radar will work with an
open-architecture common command and control (CC2) node and retains
backwards compatibility with the current Patriot Engagement Control
Station. The CC2 node will be fully interoperable with NATO
and the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command
System.
About Global Patriot Solutions
Raytheon's Global Patriot Solutions is the most advanced
portfolio of air and missile defense technologies in the world,
providing comprehensive protection against a full range of advanced
threats including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise
missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Continually upgraded and
enhanced to leverage the latest technology, Patriot serves as the
air and missile defense foundation for nations around the
globe.
About GaN
Raytheon has been leading the innovation and development of
GaN for 15 years and has invested more than $150
million to get this latest technology in the hands of the
warfighter faster and at lower cost and
risk. Raytheon has demonstrated the maturity of the
technology in a number of ways, including exceeding the reliability
requirement for insertion into the production of military
systems.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2014 sales of $23
billion and 61,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and
innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and
cybersecurity markets throughout the world. With a history of
innovation spanning 93 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art
electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in
the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications
and intelligence systems, as well as cybersecurity and a broad
range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in
Waltham, Mass. For more about
Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter
@Raytheon.
Media Contact
Mike
Nachshen
+1.520.269.5697
idspr@raytheon.com
SOURCE Raytheon Company