U.S. Army orders AN/MPQ-64 radars

FULLERTON, Calif., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army is procuring 56 Improved Sentinel Battlefield Air Defense AN/MPQ-64 radars from ThalesRaytheonSystems.

The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar is a three-dimensional, phased-array radar system that operates in the X-band frequency range. The primary mission is to automatically detect, track, identify and report airborne threats, including aircraft, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Sentinel radar capabilities are suited for a wide range of missions including air defense and missile systems coordination and homeland defense, as well as infrastructure, asset and special event protection.

"The Sentinel battlefield radar not only meets the needs of today's soldier but will grow and evolve as requirements, threats and the mission changes," said Kim Kerry, chief executive officer, ThalesRaytheon Systems, U.S. Operations.

"With a low-risk modernization road map, the Sentinel radar is one of the most cost-effective and reliable radar systems available to our armed forces."

ThalesRaytheon said it has delivered more than 220 radars to customers worldwide and is working with several nations to leverage current production to meet their sensing requirements.