Lockheed Martin [LMT] said Oct. 2 it has delivered an AN/TPS-59(V)3B ballistic missile defense radar system to Bahrain.
The radar is in use by the Bahrain Defence Force for air surveillance after a successful site acceptance test in August.
In May 2004, the U.S. Marine Corps awarded Lockheed Martin a $43.6 million contract to provide the long-range radar system to Bahrain, along with associated supplies, equipment and services, as a foreign military sale (FMS).
Earlier in 2007, members of the Bahrain Defence Force were trained how to operate and maintain the system at Lockheed Martin’s Radar Systems facility in Syracuse, N.Y., where the radar was built and tested.
“With the successful delivery of the AN/TPS-59(V)3B, the Kingdom of Bahrain has added a vital asset to its existing command and control and missile defense systems,” Ray Dean, AN/TPS-59 Bahrain project officer for the Marine Corps, said in a statement. “We all remain committed to meeting our allies’ integrated air and missile defense systems needs, and appreciate Lockheed Martin’s continued support for product excellence and customer satisfaction.”
The AN/TPS-59(V)3 is the only 360-degree coverage mobile radar in the world certified to detect tactical ballistic missiles, the company said. It can precisely predict missile launch and impact points, and cue defensive weapons against incoming threats.
The radar can detect both single and multiple targets, and detect and track small air breathing targets such as aircraft. It is designed to operate with weapons systems such as the Patriot and Aegis missile defense systems.
The all-solid state AN/TPS-59(V)3 can be integrated with other sensors for improved launch and impact point prediction, extended range capabilities, cooperative engagement and joint tactical information distribution.
The radar’s 740-kilometer range exceeds the range of 90 percent of the tactical ballistic missiles in the world today, and its mobility allows it to be forward-based to further extend the range of the system, the company said.
Built in the 1980s, 16 AN/TPS-59(V)3 radars continue to operate around the world, to include support for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Subsequent upgrades and enhancements since then have maintained these radars at a state-of-the-art technology level.