The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is seeking industry feedback on a future mobile ground-based radar system intended to strengthen U.S. homeland defense against advanced missile threats.
The request, issued as a formal Request for Information (RFI), calls for input on capabilities to support the development of a new radar system under the Mobile Land-Based Sensors Program Office (MDA/TBS).
According to the RFI, released in early September, the proposed system would support detection and tracking of ballistic missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles, and low-flying cruise missiles. The radar must be mobile, capable of rapid emplacement, and operate in complex environments across wide elevation and azimuth coverage ranges.
“The radar system should be transportable, and upon reaching the intended radar site, be able to be physically emplaced and operational in a time period of no greater than 24 hours,” the agency wrote in the document. Once deployed, calibration must be completed within 48 hours.
The RFI outlines notional threat vignettes that include large-scale raids of maneuvering re-entry vehicles, decoys, and jamming elements. The radar must be capable of tracking and discriminating objects across a raid containing up to 24 ballistic missile threats, 10 hypersonic threats, and 24 cruise missile targets simultaneously. Each scenario requires sensitivity against targets as small as -20 dBsm across hundreds or thousands of kilometers.
The Air Force and Army’s joint battle management systems are expected to interface with the radar. According to the document, the system “should be capable of interfacing both with the MDA C2BMC and Army IBCS battle management systems.” It must also provide in-flight guidance updates to interceptors and be hardened against jamming and high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) threats.
The MDA is requesting potential vendors to propose solutions with a modular antenna design, allowing for scalable production and support. The system’s operational footprint must not exceed 100 by 100 meters, and the design should allow for fully remote operation with no more than two onsite support personnel required for maintenance and system oversight.
MDA emphasized that the RFI is not a solicitation for proposals and does not commit the agency to future procurement. Participation is voluntary and does not affect eligibility for future contracting opportunities.
The radar will play a role in the broader Next Generation Missile Defense architecture, with the first prototype expected to be completed by December 31, 2028, and two additional systems delivered by the end of 2029. Capability demonstrations will include hardware-in-the-loop simulations, as well as tracking calibration satellites and aircraft to validate sensitivity requirements.
The RFI outlines extensive performance parameters, including low-elevation acquisition of fast-moving targets, long-duration 24/7 operation, rapid software updates, and remote diagnostics. Vendors are expected to describe how their radar architecture addresses detection, tracking, discrimination, communication, and operational resilience.
The new radar program reflects a growing focus on layered defense systems capable of engaging complex and fast-evolving threats—particularly from hypersonic platforms that operate at the edge of the atmosphere and present tracking challenges for traditional sensors.