For almost 25 years, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense has operated three Lockheed Martin FPS-117 radars. These radars have served critically important military functions; providing air surveillance in Turkey and contributing to the NATO Integrated Air Defence System.
Recently, NATO and Turkey decided to upgrade their radars with the latest Lockheed Martin technology. The radar’s updated configuration will provide the latest signal and data processors.
This update includes a transition from multiple cabinets to a single cabinet system. This change will lower logistics costs and increase overall reliability. The new configuration will prolong the lifetime of the radars to 2030 and beyond.
“The program development and proposal phase involved excellent planning from all sides. NATO’s Allied Command Operations (ACO/SHAPE), the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), Turkey, and Lockheed understood the requirements and budget early on,” said Mark Falinski, Program Manager at Lockheed Martin. “By understanding these needs and jointly developing options to address them, the team made the program a reality. We expect that this same teamwork through program execution will result in a very successful program.”
Production will take place in Lockheed Martin’s Syracuse facility throughout 2016 and 2017, the team completed their first program review in early September.
Lockheed Martin has produced over 180 surveillance-range radars. These radars detect targets at ranges up to 250 miles, 24 hours a day, in places all around the world. Not only can these radars be operated completely unmanned, they are also able to function in remote, inhospitable areas under a broad range of operational environments.
Lockheed Martin radars regularly operate well beyond their original 20-year service lives. No Lockheed Martin FPS-117, TPS-77 or TPS-59 radar has ever been taken out of service. Lockheed Martin continually invests in high quality technology and always works with customers to ensure the best product.