Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, received a $2.3 billion U.S. Missile Defense Agency production contract for seven gallium nitride (GaN)-based AN/TPY-2 radars as part of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which is designed to protect against incoming ballistic missile threats. The contract is part of a foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The mobile AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar uses X-band to clearly see ballistic missile threats. Of the 14 AN/TPY-2 radars produced, seven are fielded as a part of U.S.-operated THAAD systems, five operate in forward-based mode for the U.S., and two are part of foreign military sales.
These highly capable X-band radars are the sharpest eyes in the global missile defense system,” said Bryan Rosselli, vice president of Strategic Missile Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “The addition of GaN technology delivers capability for threats to be detected, tracked and discriminated with improved radar reliability.”
The radar system operates in two modes: forward-based mode — which detects ballistic missiles and identifies any lethal objects as they rise after launch — and terminal mode as part of the THAAD system, which guides interceptors toward a descending missile’s warhead.AN/TPY-2 can operate in two modes: Forward-based mode and Terminal mode. In Forward-based mode, the radar detects ballistic missiles after they are launched. In Terminal mode, the radar helps guide interceptors toward a descending missile to defeat the threat. Most notably when operating in Terminal mode, AN/TPY-2 leads the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ballistic missile defense system by guiding the THAAD missile.
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With 195,000 employees and four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
