Arthur McMiler
Government testing will begin on the first TPY-4 radar that Lockheed Martin has delivered under the U.S. Air Force program called 3DELRR, short for Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar. The first radar’s handover to the Air Force highlights Lockheed’s dedicated efforts to provide “cutting-edge, high-performance systems” that meet USAF’s evolving needs, Rick Cordaro, the company’s vice president for radar and sensor systems, said in the announcement of the radar delivery Monday.
“The 3DELRR program is of the utmost importance to air surveillance and defense capabilities worldwide, as well as defending the nation,” the Lockheed executive noted.
Lockheed designed TPY-4 as a fully digital radar system with a software-defined sensor architecture enabling a rapid performance responsive to ever-changing threats and missions. The radar can detect small, hard-to-track targets and can identify threats from adversaries jamming signals, providing a long-range early warning against missiles. TPY-4 offers options in fixed and mobile variants, enabling its transport via C-130, C-17, truck, rail or helicopter.
Buy Options in Booked Orders
Lockheed booked a potential two-year, $84.9 million contract modification in January 2023 to provide the Air Force with four 3DELRRs. The service branch selected the company’s AN/TPY-4(V)1 for the 3DELRR rapid prototyping program, with options for 35 radars.
Lockheed initially received an $8.4 million follow-on contract in April 2021 to develop a data transmission interface as part of the 3DELRR rapid prototyping competition to modernize the Air Force’s legacy TPS-75 military radar system. The company secured the award after the USAF’s 3DELRR program office evaluated its production-ready commercial radar system along with radars from Northrop Grumman and Australia-based defense technology maker CEA.
Besides USAF, Norway is also a TPY-4 customer, exercising an option in September to increase its radar order with Lockheed Martin from nine to 11 units of the air defense system. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is helping Lockheed in the TPY-4 development. According to Lockheed, its radars are deployed in over 45 countries across six continents.
