BALTIMORE, March 11 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman's ground/air task oriented radar has received approval for low rate initial production after months of testing and a Milestone C test event.
Approval for the AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR was given by the assistant secretary of the Navy for Research Development and Acquisition, the company said.
"G/ATOR has demonstrated operational capabilities that will fundamentally change how the Marine Corps detects, tracks and engages a broad range of target sets," said Jeffrey Q. Palombo, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division. "It's the most mature S-Band AESA, air-cooled ground radar system.
"The benefit of open architecture design and the ability to scale the system technology permits this product line to meet a multitude of ground and ship-based radar missions and capabilities."
In testing over the past year the radar system demonstrated its capability against a variety of platforms, including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and unmanned autonomous systems. G/ATOR also supported two weapons and tactics instruction exercises, major U.S. Marine Corps events.
Northrop Grumman, prime contractor for the system, said the engineering development model of the AN/TPS-80 system also demonstrated its ballistic missile defense capability by successfully detecting multiple rocket launches during company-funded testing.
