U.S. Army awards Lockheed Martin contracts for additional Q-53 radars

SALINA, N.Y. — The U.S. Army recently awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) three contracts to produce additional Q-53 radar systems with the addition of “enhanced capabilities.”

Those would include extended range and counter unmanned aerial system (CUAS) surveillance, Lockheed Martin said in a Monday news release.

Employees at the defense contractor’s suburban Syracuse and Owego sites will handle the work, Rae Fulkerson, spokesperson, told BJNN in an email message.

The Army uses the Q-53 to address aircraft, drone, and other threats, Lockheed said.

“We realize the warfighter needs new and improved capabilities. The Q-53 represents a fast path to respond to current and emerging threats,” Rick Herodes, director of the Q-53 program at Lockheed Martin, said in the release. “The flexibility of the architecture continues to allow the Q-53 to provide capabilities far beyond the original mission and allows for additional upgrades in the future.”

With this contract, the Army will own 189 Q-53 systems.

The Bethesda, Maryland–based defense contractor will continue producing the systems using gallium nitride (GaN) transmit-receive modules. This will provide the radar with “additional power, reliability and the possibility for enhanced capabilities” including extended range, counterfire target acquisition (CTA) and multi-mission, which delivers simultaneous CTA and air surveillance, Lockheed contends.

The primary mission of the Q-53 is to protect troops in combat by “detecting, classifying, tracking and identifying” the location of enemy indirect fire. The Q-53 has been deployed around the world since 2010, the company added.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com