LRDR passes preliminary design review
Lockheed Martin has announced that its Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) has passed preliminary design review (PDR), clearing the way for detailed design to move ahead.
The LRDR is being developed by Lockheed Martin under contract with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to support a layered ballistic missile defence strategy to protect the US from ballistic missile attacks.
The PDR was awarded following the radar proving Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 in a scaled demonstration of the system’s critical technology elements in a relevant end-to-end environment.
TRL 7 is expected to be achieved later in 2017, after which the programme will transition to manufacturing.
The system is being developed at Lockheed Martin’s facility and a new solid state radar integration site, a self-funded test facility that will be used to demonstrate TRL 7 and provide significant risk reduction for development of LRDR and future solid state radar systems.
LRDR is a high-powered S-Band radar incorporating solid-state gallium nitride (GaN) components, with the additional capability to discriminate threats at extreme distances using the inherent wideband capability of the hardware coupled with advanced software algorithms.
The radar will be a key component of the MDA’s Ballistic Missile Defense System, providing acquisition, tracking and discrimination data to enable separate defence systems to lock on and engage ballistic missile threats.
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