Lockheed to aid Air Force radar development

Lockheed Martin Corp. will assist the Air Force in developing next-generation radar capabilities under a $24.8 million contract.

The company will furnish engineering and design services for the technology development phase of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar, Defense Department officials said May 12.

The system will eventually replace AN/TPS-75 radar as the Air Force’s principal long-range, ground-based mechanism for detecting, identifying, tracking, and reporting aircraft and missiles, according to government contract documents. The new radar’s mission will be to provide long-range surveillance, aircraft control and ballistic missile detection.

It will improve the Air Force’s ability to detect and report highly maneuverable, small radar cross-section targets, and classify and determine the type of unfriendly aircraft, the contract documents state.

Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Md., ranks No. 1 on Washington Technology’s 2009 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.