Israel Aerospace Industries-subsidiary ELTA Systems has received a contract for $55 million to install Multimode Airborne ELM-2032 Fire Control Radars on newly produced combat aircraft.

IAI announced the contract Tuesday, which was awarded by an unnamed Asian customer. The contract is a repeat order, however, which the company said reflects "the customer's high satisfaction with the radar and ELTA."

The radar will allow fighter aircraft to map objects in SAR mode. Its other modes enable the detection, imaging, and tracking of other aircraft, as well as moving ground and sea objects.

"The Multimode ELM-2032 Airborne Fire Control Radars is a versatile radar and addresses several mission types in a single product," Yoav Turgeman, vice president and chief executive officer at IAI, said in a news release. "Its field of regard, long detection range and accurate tracking provides the pilots with full situation awareness, and its accurate information is used by the aircraft's systems."

"We are excited about winning this contract, and are grateful that our customers consider ELTA's radars as best in its class," Turgeman added.

IAI said the radar is one of the leading types of its kind, and is under use in many countries, because it can be installed on a "variety of airborne fighters."

Lockheed tapped to extend AN/TPQ-53 radar range
Washington (UPI) Oct 15, 2018 –

Lockheed Martin has been contracted by the U.S. Army to insert gallium nitride, or GaN, into the AN/TPQ-53, or Q-53, radar to extend its range.

The company announced Monday that it received a contract modification to upgrade medium range radars to the new Q-53, which it calls the "most modern radar in the U.S. Army inventory."

The new version is a transition to GaN-based radars, which provide additional power for longer-range counterfire target acquisition, as well as increased reliability and lowering maintenance costs, according to Lockheed.

"This modification takes advantage of our broad experience with radar production and next generation radar development experience coupled with Lockheed Martin's continuous investment in GaN and other radar technologies," Rick Herodes, director of Lockheed's Q-53 program, said in a press release.

"This update enables Q-53 mission growth for changing Army needs. We realize how critical it is to enhance the capabilities of the Q-53 so it can be responsive to the evolving operational demands and emerging threats our deployed troops face every day."

Lockheed has been developing the Q-53 since 2007, and it has been in use since 2010. The benefits of GaN technology, the company said, allow for a larger detection area and improved early detection, while the actual size of the radar has been greatly reduced.

The radar, mounted on a five-ton truck, is used for detecting, classifying, tracking and identifying the location of enemy fire and is aimed air surveillance and counter fire target acquisition.