Radar

Raytheon will participate in Army missile defense radar ‘sense-off’

Raytheon will participate in a missile defense radar “sense-off” to test designs that could be included in the U.S. Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense system under development.

The Army announced plans for the sense-off in October, resetting the approach for the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, program that has struggled to bring about a new radar for well over a decade.

The sense-off is “separate and distinct” from contracts awarded to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin last fall to come up with design concepts for a new missile defense radar, according to Bob Kelly, Raytheon’s director for integrated air and missile defense in the company’s Integrated Defense Systems division, who spoke with reporters Thursday.

According to an Oct. 29 notice posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website, the sense-off will take place this spring at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Each vendor with a radar will have roughly two weeks on the range to demonstrate capabilities. A down-select will happen by the end of the year.