A AN/TPS-75 radar rests on the back of a transport vehicle at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Mich., July 29, 2015. The AN/TPS-75 radar is capable of providing coverage 240 nautical miles in every direction and detecting aircraft as high as 95,000 ft. The radar is being used during Northern Strike 15. NS 15 is an annual training exercise on CGJMTC that assesses joint air-to-ground capability and involves hundreds of military personnel from twenty different states as well as Canada, Latvia, Poland and Australia. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski/Released)
By Vivienne Machi |
@VivienneMachi
4 years ago |
04/16/2020

At least two companies are in the running to supply the Air Force’s next ground-based radar system, with Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Lockheed Martin [LMT] submitting bids this week.

Proposals were due April 15 for the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) “SpeedDealer,” which would replace the service’s AN/TPS-75 airborne target detection radars, built by Northrop Grumman. The Air Force intends to award up to three prototype Other Transaction Agreements of up to $500,000 for the companies to demonstrate their solutions, which could then lead to a follow-on production agreement for up to 35 systems.

Mike Meaney, vice president of land and maritime sensors at Northrop Grumman, confirmed it submitted a proposal to the Air Force in an April 16 email to Defense Daily.

“Northrop Grumman is in the best position to deliver a mature solution, already in full-rate production, that provides true multi-mission performance,” Meaney said. “We specialize in developing active electronically scanned array (AESA) solutions architected for superior long-range performance with enhanced survivability to counter evolving and emerging threats.”

He did not reveal which system was submitted, but a potential candidate is the company’s Gallium Nitride-based (GaN) AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system in development for the Marine Corps.

Northrop Grumman received a $958 million contract last June for Lot 6 Full Rate Production for the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) multi-mission radar, which included 30 units. The Marine Corps also added two more G/ATOR systems to its Lot 2 contract in February (Defense Daily, Feb. 5).

A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin confirmed in a Wednesday email that the company also planned to submit a bid, but did not elaborate on the system that will be proposed.

Inside Defense first reported earlier this year that the Air Force canceled its original $71.8 million Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) SpeedDealer contract with Raytheon [RTN] due to numerous technical and supplier issues that caused schedule delays. Raytheon did not return a request for comment Thursday on whether it re-submitted a bid for the new contract.