The US Army has ordered seven additional AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53) counterfire target acquisition radars from Lockheed Martin, the company announced on 2 November. The order is valued at $85 million.
The order follows the June selection of the company to upgrade 19 of the US Army’s Q-53 radars to accommodate technical advances in capabilities.
The Q-53 counterfire target radar provides 360-degree protection from battlefield threats, allowing troops to locate and neutralise mortar and rocket threats. The solid-state phased array radar system detects, classifies, tracks and determines the location of enemy indirect fire in either 360- or 90-degree modes.
The system can be operated from a laptop computer or a fully equipped climate-controlled command vehicle.
Bob Stelmack, Q-53 program manager for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, said: ‘Soldiers can rapidly deploy the truck-mounted Q-53 and quickly determine the source of enemy fire. The 55 systems Lockheed Martin has delivered to the US Army give troops proven, advanced protection when they need it most.’
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