Air Force, long-range radar contract award hits snag with court decision
NewsJune 02, 2015
Last fall Raytheon won a contract to be prime contractor on the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR). The other competitors weren't happy about it and filed a protest, then Raytheon filed a suit to block the protest. Last month a judge ruled in favor of the protesters so the drama will continue.
Reuters.com reported last month that a U.S Federal Court of Appeals judge dismissed Raytheon's lawsuit and that now Raytheon has 60 days to appeal the decision by a judge with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. According to Reuters the court decision will enable the Air Force to move forward with a reevaluation of proposals submitted by all three bidders on the contract, which might result in a reopening of the competition.
No one involved is talking, but it would seem that the whole contract is up for grabs again and those involved in embedded signal processing work for the Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin efforts may still be in the game. For more on radar signal processing read Embedded signal processing enables advanced radars and EW systems with low latency.
The total contract when awarded was estimated at about $71.8 million and included procurement of an additional three radar systems, for a total of six radar systems and product support. The radar is to be one of the first programs under the Department of Defense's (DoD's) Better Buying Power initiative to be designed for exportability, enabling U.S. forces as well as allies and security partners to benefit from the system.
Raytheon's 3DELRR system would be a gallium nitride (GaN)-based radar that can operate in the C-band of the radio frequency spectrum. GaN enables integrators to cost-effectively increase the radar's range, sensitivity, and search capabilities. C-band also gives the military increased flexibility as that portion of the spectrum is relatively uncongested, according to Raytheon. 3DELRR will replace radars, such as the Vietnam-era AN/TPS-75, which are no longer able to keep pace with current and emerging threats.
to read a timeline on the 3DELRR contract, click here..
To read more about long-range radars, read Radar signal processing upgrades use embedded COTS hardware.
To read more 2015 radar stories, read the Radar Tech Quarterly.
