Lockheed Martin Receives Contract Modernize 29 Facilities
The U.S. Air Force awarded $46.8 million in contract options to
Lockheed Martin to begin modernizing 29 long-range radars which
provide advanced warning and air traffic control surveillance over
North America’s airspace.
Under initial options of the Essential Parts Replacement Program
(EPRP) contract, Lockheed Martin will complete engineering planning
and begin to upgrade 29 geographically disbursed AN/FPS-117
long-range surveillance radars. Expected follow-on contract options
will replace and update all the radars’ signal and data
processors to current commercial technology standards, cost
effectively extending their operational lives through 2025.
These FPS-117 radars were originally installed by Lockheed
Martin in the early 1980s as part of the Seek Igloo North Warning
program. The company has provided several technology upgrades since
then. “Our open architecture approach to L-Band radars
provides commonality in supporting and sustaining a fleet of more
than 175 long-range radars operational around the world,”
said Frank Mekker, EPRP program manager for Lockheed Martin’s
Mission Systems & Sensors business. “Signal processing
upgrades like EPRP are leveraged across this fleet, including the
TPS-59, FPS-117, TPS-77, and even our Three Dimensional
Expeditionary Long Range Radar (3DELRR), to provide significant
lifecycle cost savings for our customers.”
In recent years, Lockheed Martin has successfully completed
similar radar modernizations at sites in the United Kingdom,
Germany, Romania and Kuwait.
Under the EPRP contract, Lockheed Martin will modernize 15
radars in Alaska, 11 in Canada, and one each in Hawaii, Puerto Rico
and Utah, which are part of the Air Force’s Atmospheric Early
Warning System, by 2014. The contract also includes replacement of
the radar site’s secondary surveillance radar, used for air
traffic control purposes. The EPRP acquisition is being led by the
Ogden Air Logistics Center of the Air Force Material Command at
Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
The NATO-certified AN/FPS-117 radar is the world’s most
widely used three-dimensional, solid-state radar. Today, FPS-117
and TPS-77, a transportable version of the 117, radar systems are
operational in 25 countries. Capable of operating completely
unmanned, many have performed for years in remote, inhospitable
areas and in a wide range of operational environments.
Lockheed Martin’s FPS-117 L-band radar provides continuous
high-quality surveillance on air targets at ranges out to 250
miles. The AN/FPS-117's advanced pencil beam architecture provides
detailed detection and tracking, as well as adaptability to
changing environmental conditions. (Lockheed Martin photo)