Lockheed Martin and ARINC submit D-RAPCON bid

An industry team consisting of Lockheed Martin and Aeronautical Radio Incorporated (ARINC) has submitted its proposal for a new, transportable air traffic control (ATC) radar system for USAF and the Air National Guard.

The system will enable these units to quickly establish tactical military or disaster-relief airfield operations around the world and comes under USAF’s Deployable Radar Approach Control (D-RAPCON) programme.

Through D-RAPCON the air force will procure 19 ATC surveillance radar systems, which can deploy within 48 hours worldwide by C-130 aircraft and take less than six hours to set up. The total programme value is expected to be worth in excess of $400 million. 

‘Our bid carefully balances the service’s need for off-the-shelf products that reduce risk in a budget constrained environment,’ Greg Larioni, VP of radar surveillance systems at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors business said in a company statement on 30 July. ‘We have been designing and manufacturing transportable radars for decades with more than 100 systems deployed around the world today.’

The Lockheed Martin-ARINC team’s solution integrates field-proven systems, including Lockheed Martin’s TPS-79 tactical surveillance radar and Microprocessor-En Route Automated Radar Tracking System (Micro-EARTS), as well as ARINC’s transportable ATC operations shelter. 

To date, Micro-EARTS is the only ATC display system certified by the FAA for providing both terminal and en route ATC automation capabilities at FAA and DoD operational sites, as well as for currently deployed air force expeditionary ATC systems, Lockheed Martin said.

D-RAPCON aims to replace ageing and difficult to maintain ATC systems in service, including the AN/TPN-19 landing control centre which is some 40 years old. Ten D-RAPCON systems will go to the Air National Guard, seven to active-duty Air Force Space Command units, and one each to the air force’s ATC school and depot.