TEWKSBURY, Mass., April 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ballistic
missiles will soon be easier to detect and defeat. The U.S.
Missile Defense Agency has awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a
$10 million contract modification to
continue the development of hardware and software that will add
gallium nitride, or GaN semiconductor technology to the AN/TPY-2
ballistic missile defense radar.
GaN increases the radar's range, search capabilities and enables
the system to better discriminate between threats and non-threats.
Gallium nitride technology also increases the system's overall
reliability while maintaining production and operational costs.
"AN/TPY-2 is already the world's most capable land-based,
X-band, ballistic missile defense radar," said Raytheon's
Dave Gulla, vice president of the
Integrated Defense Systems Mission Systems and Sensors business
area. "Adding GaN technology modernizes the system so it can defeat
all classes of ballistic missiles in extreme operational
environments."
The AN/TPY-2 is on pace to be the world's first transportable,
land-based ballistic missile defense radar to use GaN
technology.
The AN/TPY-2 radar operates in two modes:
- In forward-based mode, the radar is positioned near hostile
territory, and detects, tracks and discriminates ballistic missiles
shortly after they are launched.
- In terminal mode, the radar detects, acquires, tracks and
discriminates ballistic missiles as they descend to their target.
The terminal mode AN/TPY-2 is the fire control radar for the
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ballistic missile defense
system, by guiding the THAAD missile to intercept a threat.
About GaN
Raytheon has led development and
innovative use of GaN for 19 years and has invested more
than $200 million to get this latest technology into the
hands of military members 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 2016 sales of
$24 billion and 63,000 employees, is
a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil
government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of
innovation spanning 95 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. Follow us on Twitter
@Raytheon.
Public release approval: 17-MDA-9110
(27 March 17)
www.raytheon.com
Media Contact
Ian
Davis
+1.978.858.4135
idspr@raytheon.com
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SOURCE Raytheon Company