On 13 October, the US Department of Defense (DoD) issued concept definition contracts to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Technovative Applications and Raytheon, the four potential candidates for the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense (LTAMD) sensor capability programme. This will include a replacement for the Patriot radar system – a key component of LTAMD. All four companies have been issued with the 15-month contracts by the DoD Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC).
A request for information (RFI) was sent out in July last year looking for upgraded or replacement systems that could improve discrimination and tracking of ballistic missiles, with a further capability to counter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) threats. It is expected that Northrop Grumman will propose its Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) while Lockheed Martin could offer its AESA Radar for Engagement and Surveillance (ARES) system.
