The U.S. Air Force has awarded the Lockheed Martin Corporation a contract for the Atmospheric Early Warning System AN/FPS-117 Radar program.Â
This contract, announced by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) on 28 October, provides for contractor logistics support and radar hardware/spares procurement.
Within the contract, work will be performed in Syracuse, New York, as well as various sites in Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Puerto Rico and Utah. The work is expected to be complete by March 2026.
The AN/FPS-117 is an L-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3-dimensional air search radar. The system offers instrumented detection at ranges on the order of 200 to 250 nautical miles (370 to 460 km; 230 to 290 mi) and has a wide variety of interference and clutter rejection systems.
As noted by the company, developed for the U.S. Air Force 35 years ago, it provides long-range surveillance capability to the minimally attended Distant Early Warning line in Alaska and Canada. It is the most capable dual-use air traffic monitoring and air defense radar available and has been proven in more locations around the world than any other radar in its class.
