The U.S. government approved Raytheon [RTN] to export a Gallium Nitrade (GaN)-based Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Patriot sensor to Patriot System partner nations, the company said on Feb. 19.
“GaN-based AESA technology can bring customers of the combat-proven Patriot-optimized, 360-degree coverage while setting the stage for future capability improvements,” Ralph Acaba, vice president of integrated air and missile defense at Raytheon’s integrated defense systems business, said in a statement.
The GaN-based AESA technology improves the Patriot system’s reliability rate and reduces the radar’s annual operation and maintenance costs, Raytheon said.
GaN-based AESA technology is used in the design of the Navy’s Air and Missile Defense Radar as well as several Air Force systems, the company said.
Raytheon demonstrated a GaN-based AESA prototype Patriot array in Feb. 2014 using GaN manufactured in the company’s Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 8 foundry, certified by the Department of Defense. This foundry was the first to receive an MRL 8 certification, Raytheon said.