Defense News:
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Raytheon debuted its first full-sized prototype of a next-generation Patriot radar here on Tuesday at the AUSA Global Force Symposium and Exhibition.
The company’s new technology is called Gallium Nitride (GaN) Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and its designed to provide the Patriot with a 360-degree view on the battlefield.
So what is GaN-based AESA? Raytheon explains:
GaN: This is the material used to build the radar’s circuits. It is a semiconductor that uses energy efficiently to amplify the radar’s high-power radio frequencies.
AESA: This changes the way the Patriot radar searches the sky. Instead of shining a single transmitter through many lenses, the new array uses many smaller transmitters, each with its own control. It increases flexibility. And t still works even if some of the transmitters do not.
“This is technology that’s ready today,” said Ralph Acaba, the company’s vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense. “It’s ready to be fielded.”
Indeed, it will be fielded for further testing later this year, Acaba told a crowd that had gathered for the big reveal.
Raytheon has invested over $200 million to develop GaN technology over 16 years, augmented with US government investment over time, Acaba told Defense News in February.
The Patriot system was fielded to the Army in 1982 and Raytheon has continuously upgraded the system with investments from the US and 13 partner nations. The system is expected to stay fielded until at least 2040.
