By Marina Malenic
Two companies vying for a contract to provide a next-generation long-range surveillance and ballistic missile defense radar for the Air Force have completed a capability demonstration in the latest phase of the competition.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] and rival Sensis Corp. last month conducted demonstrations for the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR). This was the second and final required under a firm-fixed-price $24.9 contract awarded to Lockheed Martin and a $21.9 million firm-fixed-price contract awarded to Sensis in 2009.
The Lockheed Martin team includes BAE Systems, Computer Sciences Corp. [CSC], and ManTech [MANT]. The Sensis team includes Raytheon [RTN] and Moog [MOGA/MOGB].
Lockheed Martin completed an initial demonstration of critical technology elements in March 2010 and an initial preliminary design review in October 2010. Company program director Mark Mekker told Defense Daily that Lockheed Martin’s technology demonstration event on Dec. 16-17 in Syracuse, N.Y., detected live targets and performed at the requisite technology readiness level set by the Air Force.
“The Air Force wanted to make sure that this was a very low-risk program going forward and that the technology didn’t need to be invented mid-stream,” Mekker said during a telephone interview yesterday.
“Lockheed Martin has made significant investments in 3DELRR to reduce risk and drive affordability,” Mekker added. “We have applied both new technology advances and our knowledge gained from decades of experience developing and maintaining 178 long-range surveillance radars currently operational around the world.”
During the demonstration, Lockheed Martin unveiled a functioning system prototype to Air Force and Marine Corps officials as proof of the radar’s maturity, according to Mekker. He said the company’s design addresses all of the Air Force’s 3DELRR requirements, including critical extended air surveillance reach for early warning from threats, such as aircraft and ballistic missiles.
The 3DELRR will serve as the principal long-range, ground-based sensor for detecting, identifying, tracking and reporting aircraft and missiles for the Air Force. The system is to replace the service’s AN/TPS-75 Cold War-era air surveillance radar.
Unlike the AN/TPS-75, according to an Air Force official, the 3DELRR will be able to detect and report highly maneuverable, small radar cross-section targets, both faster and slower than the legacy target set. More specific target criteria are classified, the official said.
The Marine Corps is also evaluating the system as a replacement for their AN/TPS-59 ballistic missile defense radar, though no formal agreement for a joint procurement has been struck.
The Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass., which is leading the acquisition for 3DELRR, plans to award one contract by early 2012 to complete the 3DELRR technology development and engineering manufacturing development phases. The last draft request for proposals (RFP) was released last week, with a final RFP expected in the spring.