The US Missile Defense Agency has received its first upgraded AN/TPY-2 radar to detect, track, and discriminate among ballistic missile threats.
Fully equipped with a Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor, the Raytheon radar features significantly enhanced detection sensitivity, range, and surveillance capacity that makes it optimal for hypersonic defense.
It also uses the latest CX6 high-performance computing software for precise target discrimination and electronic attack protection, and operates in the X-band of the electromagnetic spectrum to accurately distinguish between threats and non-threatening objects.
While it is the first radar with GaN delivered to the agency, it is overall the 13th AN/TPY-2 radar Washington has received.
“This is the most advanced version of AN/TPY-2 that Raytheon has built, leveraging years of investment and innovation to produce superior capability at a lower cost to the US armed forces,” Raytheon President of Air and Space Defense Systems Sam Deneke said.
In September 2024, Saudi Arabia was the first to take delivery of the GaN-equipped AN/TPY-2 radar as part of a $2.3-billion contract in 2020.
Optimal for Hypersonic Defense
The AN/TPY-2 radar is a primary component of the Pentagon’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. It is designed to intercept short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats outside and inside the atmosphere.
With GaN increasing the radar’s sensitivity and range, this helps with early threat detection and enables operators to “hit it before it starts maneuvering,” company VP for Air and Space Defense Systems Requirements and Capabilities Jon Norman shared with Breaking Defense.
The upgraded radar is suitable for detecting hypersonic targets — which combine high speeds with complex maneuvers that make them challenging to detect and intercept — at the point when a missile’s booster separates from the warhead.
“What the TPY-2 does now, with the Gallium Nitride front-end in it, is it can see things twice as far, so we can make that command and control decision a lot earlier on which effector to use, whether it’s an SM series or it’s a Patriot, or it’s a THAAD,” said Norman.
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