Raytheon and MDA go green with X-Band radar upgrade

Raytheon Missiles & Defense partnered with the US Missile Defence Agency (MDA) to redesign the cooling system using environmentally friendly materials, decreasing energy loads and greenhouse gas emissions.

The new design will reduce the annual energy consumption of SDX by an estimated 4,346,000 kilowatt-hours. Decreasing the system's reliance on diesel generators is expected to reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 17,786t per annum.

Kevin Ryan, executive director for strategic sensor systems at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, said: 'SBX is one of the most powerful missile defence radars deployed today,

'We were able to decarbonize and reduce the environmental impact of the system without sacrificing performance.'

Raytheon said the new design improves reliability by increasing redundancy by 150 per cent.

The company added that operational availability and readiness were increased by reducing 'minimizing' system failures.

The nine-storey tall SBX is the world's largest phased array, electro-mechanically steered X-band radar.

SBX Infographic. (Photo: Raytheon Missiles & Defense.)