SYRACUSE, N.Y., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Twenty-nine U.S. Air Force Early Warning, Long-Range Surveillance Radars are to undergo modernization by Lockheed Martin.
Under initial options of the Essential Parts Replacement Program contract, Lockheed Martin will complete engineering planning and begin to upgrade AN/FPS-117 long-range surveillance radars.
Expected follow-on contract options will replace and update all the radars' signal and data processors to current commercial technology standards, cost-effectively extending operational use through 2025.
The FPS-117 radars were installed by Lockheed Martin in the early 1980s as part of the Seek Igloo North Warning program. The company has provided several technology upgrades since then.
"Our open architecture approach to L-Band radars provides commonality in supporting and sustaining a fleet of more than 175 long-range radars operational around the world," said Frank Mekker, EPRP program manager for Lockheed Martin's Mission Systems and Sensors business.
"Signal processing upgrades like EPRP are leveraged across this fleet, including the TPS-59, FPS-117, TPS-77 and even our Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radar, to provide significant life-cycle cost savings for our customers."
In recent years, Lockheed Martin has completed similar radar modernizations at sites in the United Kingdom, Germany, Romania and Kuwait.
Under the EPRP contract, Lockheed Martin will modernize 15 radars in Alaska, 11 in Canada and one each in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Utah by 2014. The devices are part of the Air Force's Atmospheric Early Warning System. The contract includes replacement of the radar site's secondary surveillance radar, used for air traffic control purposes.
The award is worth $46.8 million.
