The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the United Arab Emirates of AN/TPQ-50 Radar and related equipment for an estimated cost of $85 million. The Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested to buy eighteen (18) AN/TPQ-50 Radar Systems – man portable version. Also included are 107mm High Explosive (HE) rockets (for CONUS testing only); Computer Digital Military Laptop Radar Control Display units; 5kW Advanced Medium Mobile Power Source (AMMPS) Trailer-Mounted, Diesel Engine Driven Power Unit PU-2001; spares; mission equipment and other related elements of logistics and program support.The principal contractor will be SRC Inc, Syracuse, NY. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important regional partner. The UAE is a vital U.S. partner for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. The proposed sale will support efforts to protect critical infrastructure and high value civilian assets, as well as military installations and forces from rocket, artillery, and mortar (RAM) and unmanned aerial system threats. It will also further enhance the United States – UAE relationship, both politically and militarily, while also increasing the UAE’s effectiveness in executing military and civil defense operations that promote U.S. national interests. The UAE will use the TPQ-50 radars to recognize incoming threats from hostile nations or agents of adversary nations.
The AN/TPQ-50 counterfire radar provides continuous 360 degree surveillance and 3-D rocket, artillery and mortar (RAM) location using a non-rotating, electronically steered antenna. When compared to its expeditionary predecessor, it detects targets with flatter trajectories while calculating the point of origin more accurately from a greater distance. Its full azimuth coverage allows it to simultaneously detect and track multiple rounds fired from separate locations within a 700 square kilometer surveillance area. The radar can also be configured to scan less than 360 degrees, providing focused sector coverage with more frequent update rates. Once RAM or improvised munitions are detected, the radar sends an early warning message indicating a round is incomingIt then gathers enough data to accurately locate the point of origin to within 50 meters from more than 10 kilometers away.
The AN/TPQ-50 counterfire radar is an official U.S. Army Program of Record, a distinction of its effectiveness at filling a critical need for America’s warfighters. The predecessor of AN/TPQ-50 received the Top 10 Army Greatest Invention award in 2004. This award recognizes the best technological solutions for soldiers, and how these new technologies increase competence for the U.S. Army The radar has been designed and tested against strict U.S. military standards, including:
- MIL-STD-461E, Requirements for the Control of Electromagnetic Interference, Characteristics of Subsystems and Equipment
- MIL-STD-464A, Electromagnetic Environmental Effects Requirements for Systems
- MIL-STD-810G, Test Method Standard for Environmental Engineering Considerations & Laboratory Tests
