Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, has received a $2.3 billion production contract from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for seven GaN-based AN/TPY-2 radars, part of a foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Bryan Rosselli, the vice president of strategic missile defense at Raytheon, said, “These highly capable X-Band radars are the sharpest eyes in the global missile defense system. The addition of GaN technology delivers capability for threats to be detected, tracked and discriminated with improved radar reliability.”

The mobile AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar is part of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, designed to protect against incoming ballistic missile threats. Operating at X-Band to identify ballistic missile threats, the radar system operates in two modes:

• Forward-based mode, which detects ballistic missiles and identifies any lethal objects as they rise after launch.
• Terminal mode, as part of the THAAD system, which guides interceptors toward a descending missile's warhead.

Of the 14 AN/TPY-2 radars produced, seven are fielded with U.S.-operated THAAD systems, five operate in forward-based mode for the U.S. and two are part of foreign military sales.