By Ann Roosevelt

Under an initial $42 million contract, Northrop Grumman [NOC] will deliver 10 STARLite(tm) Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR)/Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI) radars to the Army for the for the Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) radar program.

“We have hopes to provide up to 150 of the radars,” Alan Colegrove, director of business development for Land Forces Weapons and Sensors, told Defense Daily.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) builds the ER/MP Sky Warrior, with team members including AAI [TXT], Sparta, and L-3 Communications [LLL].

“STARLite(tm) will provide precision ground maps and indications of moving targets vital to surveillance and protection of forces on the ground,” Dave Shrum, vice president of Weapons and Sensors for Northrop Grumman’s Land Forces Division, said. “STARLite’s light weight will allow its installation on armed UAVs alongside optical sensors, giving our warfighters unprecedented situational awareness and target coordination to reduce the kill chain on a wide variety of UAV and manned systems.”

The radar is also linked to the Army’s major modernization program, Future Combat Systems (FCS). The radar is planned for the FCS Class IV Fire Scout UAV, also produced by Northrop Grumman, Colegrove said. “We do intend to use this radar as a springboard to a variety of high [technology readiness levels[] TRL variants, becoming smaller and used in different applications.”

The radar, now notionally 78 pounds could become smaller, and perhaps add an electro-optical element.

The Army Communication-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command issued the contract for the new multi-function radar.

Northrop Grumman currently has a wide range of UAV-based surveillance radars in design, testing or production, aimed at providing for the existing and future tactical surveillance needs of the warfighter from the small unit to both the corps and battle group level.

“Some [of the radars] are evolutionary in growth and capability, others are revolutionary offering a jump in capability,” Colegrove said.