News: Microelectronics
25 September 2024
Raytheon completes first AN/TPY-2 radar for Saudi Arabia
US-based Raytheon (a business of aerospace & defense company RTX) has delivered the first AN/TPY-2 radar for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The AN/TPY-2 is a missile defense radar that can detect, track and discriminate ballistic missiles in multiple phases of flight.
This is the first AN/TPY-2 radar with a complete gallium nitride (GaN)-populated array in the system. GaN technology provides greater sensitivity to increase range as well as expand surveillance capacity. It is also a key enabler in allowing the AN/TPY-2 radar to support the hypersonic mission.
“The latest AN/TPY-2 radar is now in a different class, with Raytheon making more than 50 enhancements to the radar,” says Paul Ferraro, president, Air & Space Defense Systems, Raytheon. “These upgrades will help Saudi Arabia to better defend itself from missile threats and will additionally benefit the entire fleet with enhanced sensing capability.”
AN/TPY-2 operates in the X-band of the electromagnetic spectrum. This enables it to see targets more clearly and distinguish between an actual threat to a defended area and non-threat objects, like separation debris. When operating in Terminal mode, AN/TPY-2 is directly in the fire control loop of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ballistic missile defense system through its direct communication with the THAAD missile.
Raytheon awarded $2.3bn US MDA contract
Raytheon wins MDA contract modification to transition AN/TPY-2 radar production from GaAs to GaN
