Romania signed a contract agreement with Lockheed Martin [LMT] for two new TPS-77 radars, the company said Feb. 22.
The TPS-77 uses Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology, which allows high power amplifiers to use less power than previous generations of radar systems. This increases reliability, lowers life-cycle costs, and extends the useful life of the radar, the company said.
The radars will also include new Digital Array Row Transceivers (DART), which produce energy efficiency and greater performance, Lockheed Martin said.
The company highlighted it has had a ground-based radar partnership with Romania since 1995.
“For over 20 years, Lockheed Martin and Romania have built a strong partnership to enhance Romania’s air surveillance and weather radar network. The feedback we receive from our ongoing collaborations with countries like Romania leads to the development of system enhancements, like DART,” Mark Mekker, Lockheed Martin director for surveillance radar, said in a statement.
The company noted no FPS-117/TPS-77 radars have yet been taken out of service, with units operating beyond their original 20-year service lives.
The contract value was not provided at the time of announcement. Work on the TPS-77 radars is set to be done in Syracuse, N.Y.