AN/TPY-2: America’s Portable Missile Defense Radar

Apr 29, 2013 14:12 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff

AN/TPY-2
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The THAAD Ground-Based Radar (GBR), now known as the AN/TPY-2, is an X-Band, phased array, solid-state, long-range air defense radar. It was developed and built by Raytheon at its Andover, MA Integrated Air Defense Facility, as the main radar for the US Army’s THAAD late midcourse ballistic missile defense system.

For THAAD, targeting information from the TPY-2 is uploaded to the missile immediately before launch, and continuously updated in flight via datalinks. The TPY-2 is always deployed with THAAD, but it can also be used independently as part of any ABM (anti ballistic missile) infrastructure. That flexibility, and ease of deployment, is carving out an expanding role for the TPY-2/ “FBX” that reaches beyond THAAD. If a recent NRC report is adopted, that role will expand again to include national-scale ballistic missile defense. Hence this separate article to cover its ongoing development.

The TPY-2/ FBX System

The radar uses a trailer-mounted, single-faced 9.2 square meter wideband phased-array antenna. In the antenna there are 72 transceiver modules in semiconductor technology, which supply a total of 25,344 antenna elements. In “forward-based” or volume search mode, the TPY-2′s high power output and beam/waveform agility lets it perform air surveillance to very high altitudes at ranges of up to 1,000 km (600 miles). In “terminal” (targeting) mode, it performs aerial target identification and tracking.

Those targets can include incoming ballistic missiles. While they’re adapted for end to end use against short range ballistic missiles, TPY-2 radars can be used against longer-range missiles as well. Their X-band frequency and narrow beam widths add the additional advantage of being able to tell the difference between smaller objects, such as a warhead vs. space debris (“range resolution”). The penalty is that they’re not as good as the huge SSPARS/UEWR radars at searching wide volumes of space, and of course they have a much shorter range. At present, their best use against long-range attacks is to observe the early stage of missile launches from a forward base, and relay that information to the national command to cue larger radars.

The entire AN/TPY-2 radar system includes:

• The phased-array Antenna Equipment Unit (AEU)
  
• A Cooling Equipment Unit (CEU) for use with the antenna array
  
• The Electronic Equipment Unit (EEU)
  
• A 1.3 MW Prime Power Unit (PPU)
  
• An Operator Control Unit (OCU) which lets soldiers see the radar’s results, monitor the system, and communicate. It has its own built-in power unit.

The FBX (Forward Based X-band) is a stand-alone AN/TPY-2 radar, with some additional communications for independent meshing with other missile defense elements. Normally, the THAAD system would handle that, but FBX deploys on its own, without the THAAD missile system.

Future proposals for FBX could field a much more powerful version.

The USA’s National Research Council submitted a 2012 report that recommended an improved FBX, as part of an enhanced GMD-E mid-cource defense system for the continental USA. On the ground, 5 “GBX” twin-stacked and integrated, rotatable TPY-2 derivative radars would be added, with X-band uplink and downlink modes. Four would be co-located with current SPSS ballistic missile early warning sites at Clear AFS, AK; Cape Cod, MA; Thule, Greenland; and Fylingdales, United Kingdom. The 5th would be placed at Grand Forks, ND, which currently houses the 10th Space Warning Squadron.

Each GBX would have a 20 degree x 90 degree field of view, rotatable through an azimuth sector of 270 degrees, while providing electronic scan coverage from the horizon to the zenith over a traverse angle sector of 45 degrees from broadside. Output from the stacked TPY-2 radars would be combined coherently through a time-delay device that permits full instantaneous signal bandwidth to be used for range Doppler imaging, creating an elevation beam width half that of the AN/TPY-2 radar, with 2x the gain (4x times the 2-way gain) and 2x the peak and average power. Duplicate power supply and cooling units would be required, and an upload/download link would need to be added. See also “Ballistic Missile Defense: Why the Current GMD System’s Radars Can’t Discriminate” for an in-depth technical explanation of why even the huge UEWR radars aren’t suitable for discriminating between warheads and the decoys used by more advanced missiles, and why TPY-2′s X-band wavelength is a much better fit.

Contracts & Key Events

Note that some TPY-2 contracts will not appear here, because they were simply bundled within THAAD missile system development and purchases, and were not independently visible.

April 26/13: The GAO looks at the Missile Defense Agency’s full array of programs in report #GAO-13-342, “Missile Defense: Opportunity To Refocus On Strengthening Acquisition Management.” With respect to the AN/TPY-2 system, there have been a few slips, but those mostly come from shifts by the MDA and the THAAD program. One delay that was intrinsic involved the Production Readiness Risk Assessment, which was delayed for 2 years because of an obsolete radar processor that was hard to replace.

THAAD reductions from 9 batteries to 6 also hit the TPY-2 program, as the MDA cut its planned TPY-2 buy from 18 to 11. That’s a greater than proportional reduction, for an asset that’s also in wide demand without THAAD. The reduction means that the last American TPY-2 was ordered in December 2012, and the line will shut down in FY 2015 without export orders. Which do appear to be forthcoming. The reported average cost in the 2012 BAR to buy one more AN/TPY-2 is FY11$ 187 million, though foreign buyers will also have to pay for the support infrastructure, training, etc.

March 19/13: #8 delivered. Raytheon announces that they’ve delivered their 8th AN/TPY-2 radar to the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

March 15/13: Japan. Following North Korea’s 3rd nuclear test attempt, the new US Secretary of Defense announces that the USA will add 14 more ground-based interceptor missiles at Fort Greely, AK and Vandenberg AFB, CA. They’re paying for this by “restructuring” the SM-3 Block 2B Next Generation Aegis Missile program. In reality, they’re cancelling SM-3-2B.

Japan will continue to collaborate with the USA on the SM-3 Block 2A program, and will get a 2nd AN/TPY-2 radar on its territory in addition to the one at Shariki Air Base, per the Sept 27/12 announcement. Pentagon AFPS | Full Speech Transcript.

September 2012: NRC recommends stacked “GBX”. The US National Research Council publishes “Making Sense of Ballistic Missile Defense: An Assessment of Concepts and Systems for U.S. Boost-Phase Missile Defense in Comparison to Other Alternatives.” The report staff have deeply impressive backgrounds related to missile defense, and their main conclusion is that very fundamental reasons of geography and physics make boost-phase defense systems a waste of time. On the other hand, they propose an important upgrade to the USA’s midcourse defense sensors, by substituting sets of stacked AN/TPY-2 radars (GBX) for the proposed PTSS satellite constellation. First, the core problem:

“…the midcourse discrimination problem must be addressed far more seriously if reasonable confidence is to be achieved… While the current GMD may be effective against the near-term threat… the committee disagrees with the statement… that this capability can be maintained “for the foreseeable future.”1… The signal bandwidth of the [EWR/ SPSS] UHF radars is limited to a few megahertz… range resolution is measured in tens of meters. While all these radars can be used to commit midcourse interceptors that have sufficient onboard sensing, autonomy, and divert capability to acquire and parse the threat complex during fly-out, they offer little help in discrimination of decoys or other countermeasures.”

The affordable sensor fix involves 5 TPY-2 FBX derivatives. Four would be co-located with current SPSS ballistic missile early warning sites at Clear AFS, AK; Cape Cod, MA; Thule, Greenland; and Fylingdales, United Kingdom. The 5th would be placed at Grand Forks, ND, which currently houses the 10th Space Warning Squadron:

“To avoid the need for developing a new radar capable of detecting and tracking threat objects in excess of 3,000 km, it is recommended that… (2) a new variant we call “GBX” be created by stacking two TPY-2 radar arrays one on top of the other and integrating their coherent-beam-forming electronics and software to provide twice the power and twice the aperture X-band radar with a 120 degree by 90 degree field of view… [GBX] radars would be mounted on azimuth turntables… that could be mechanically reoriented (not scanned) through an azimuth sector of 270 degrees… [while providing] electronic scan coverage from the horizon to the zenith over a traverse angle sector of 45 degrees from broadside… The output of this… GBX system would be combined coherently through a time-delay device that permits the full instantaneous signal bandwidth to be used for range Doppler imaging. The coherent combination produces an elevation beam width half that of the AN/TPY-2 radar, with twice the gain (four times the twoway gain) and twice the peak and average power. Duplicate power supply and cooling units would be required, but a single electronic equipment unit should suffice, with minimal added electronics… An uplink/downlink function should be included as a new radar mode.”

See also NY Times | “Ballistic Missile Defense: Why the Current GMD System’s Radars Can’t Discriminate” for an in-depth technical explanation of why even the huge UEWR radars aren’t suitable for discriminating between warheads and the decoys used by more advanced missiles.

Feb 18/12: Turkey(s). During meetings with NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu states the TPY-2 radar based at Diyarbakir (vid. Sept 3/11) must not have any of its data sets shared beyond NATO, with a specific reference to Israel. The radar is positioned in a way that makes it easy to see into Iran, for early detection of ballistic missile launches. Voice of America | UPI.

Nov 1/11: Software & analysis. The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awards Raytheon IDS of Woburn, MA a maximum $307.6 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract. Under this new contract, Raytheon will maintain software required to operate “the X-band family of radars,” and perform and Ballistic Missile Defense System test planning, execution and analysis. Discussions with Raytheon personnel confirmed that the funding applies to the XBR radar on the SBX naval platform, as well as their AN/TPY-2 radars (THAAD, European missile defense, deployed in Israel & Japan), and a “Ground Based Radar Prototype” that they’re working on as a technology demonstrator.

Work will be performed in Woburn, MA from Nov 1/11 through Oct 31/13, and the MDA’s FY 2012 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used to fund initial orders. The MDA at Redstone Arsenal, AL manages the contract (HQ0147-12-D-0005).

April 7/11: Software. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Woburn, MA receives a $14 million sole-source cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification to maintain and improve the AN/TPY-2 radar’s software. Work will be performed in Woburn, MA from April 2011 through June 2011, and $4 million in FY 2011 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used to incrementally fund this effort.

This award beings total contract awards so far under (HQ0006-03-C-0047) to $1.936 billion.

Nov 10/10: Refurb. A sole-source $25.2 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification to Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Woburn, MA, to refurbish AN/TPY-2 radar #4.

Work will be performed in Woburn, MA through August 2011, funded by FY 2010 – 2011 Research, Development, Test & Evaluation funds (HQ0006-03-C-0047).

Sept 1/10: Support. A $22.6 million sole-source cost-plus-award-fee contract modification to Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Woburn, MA will continue support services for the AN/TPY-2 radar’s flight and ground testing.

Work will be performed in Woburn, MA from September 2010 through June 2011. $1,443,793 in FY 2010 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used to incrementally fund this effort (HQ0006-03-C-0047).

Aug 24/10: Software. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Woburn, MA received a sole-source contract modification for $43 million continue software maintenance in support of the AN/TYP-2 radar. The modification includes both fixed-price and cost-plus-award-fee line items, and work will be performed in Woburn, MA. The performance period is through March 2011. FY 2010 & 2011 Research, Development, Test and Evaluation funds will be used, and the US Missile Defense Agency manages the contract (HQ0006-03-C-0047). See also Raytheon release.

July 29/10: Test. A THAAD system successfully intercepts its target during a low-endo-atmospheric MDA test at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. Soldiers of the 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade of Fort Bliss, Texas, conducted launcher, fire control and radar operations, and were not informed of the exact launch time for the unitary missile target.

The AN/TPY-2 radar was a particular focus, and it achieved all test objectives: acquiring the target, discriminating the lethal object, providing track and discrimination data to the fire control, and communicating with the in-flight THAAD interceptor. The fire control software, jointly developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, also performed successfully. This was the 7th successful intercept in 7 attempts for the operationally-configured THAAD system.

Several missile defense assets and emerging technologies observed the launch and gathered data for future analysis. Participants included the Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system, and elements of the U.S. Army’s PATRIOT system which conducted engagement coordination with THAAD, and conducted upper tier debris mitigation exercises during the intercept engagement. US MDA: release | MDA photos and video | Raytheon.

March 16/10: Support. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems of Woburn, MA receives a $17.4 million sole-source contract modification that includes both fixed-price and cost-plus-award-fee line items. Under this contract modification, Raytheon will continue Phase II of concurrent test, training, and operations support unit integration for AN/TYP-2 X-Band radar.

Work will be performed in Woburn, MA through November 2010. Fiscal year 2010 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used for this effort (HQ0006-03-C-0047).

July 9/09: Power unit. Raytheon announces successful integration and acceptance testing the AN/TPY-2 X-band radar’s Prime Power Unit (PPU), a trailer-mounted 1.3 megawatt Generator Set. Following this success at White Sands Missile Range, NM, the PPU will undergo extensive user evaluations as the next stage in its fielding process.

June 13/08: AEGIS Test. A non-firing test involves THAAD TPY-2 X-band radars in conjunction with the SPY-1 Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system aboard the USS Lake Erie [CG 70], as 2 medium-range target missiles are launched near-simultaneously from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Barking Sands, Hawaii. Lake Erie’s crew used their own radars, and also received data from 2 APY-2 THAAD radars at PMRF via secure links. All equipment performed as designed, and the cruiser was able to get launch solutions on both targets. MDA release [PDF].

Oct 8/07: Japan. Community relations take on an interesting dimension in Shariki, Japan, where a TPY-2 radar is based. Locals were worried about the radar’s potential to disrupt cell phones, and were worried that living near it might be a health hazard. Building a housing complex near the radar for the Raytheon technicians who operate the radar, and Blackwater security contractors who protect the site, helped ease those concerns. Stars & Stripes.

June 22/07: AEGIS Test. Missile defense Flight Test Maritime-12 took place, launching an SM-3 Block 1A missile from the destroyer USS Decatur [DDG 73]. The Spanish Navy’s Alvaro de Bazan Class AEGIS frigate Mendez Nunez [F-104] also participated in the test “as a training event to assess the future capabilities of the F-100 Class.” So, too, did the US Navy’s Ticonderoga Class AEGIS cruiser USS Port Royal [CG 73], which successfully used its SPY-1B radar augmented by a prototype AEGIS BMD Signal Processor (BSP) to detect and track the separating warhead in real time, and to tell the difference between the simulated warhead and the rest of the missile. The final variant of that processor is expected to be deployed in 2010.

USS Port Royal also exchanged tracking data with a ground-based Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system ashore, in order to verify compatibility. Video from the test | US MDA release [PDF] | Raytheon release | Boeing release | Lockheed Martin release.

Feb 9/07: Order. Raytheon Company in Woburn, MA received a $20 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification contract that could soar to $212.2 million to manufacture, deliver, and integrate the AN/TPY-2 radar component of the THAAD ABM system. Fiscal Year 2007 R&D funds worth $20 million will be used. Work will be performed at Woburn, MA and is expected to be complete by May 2010. The Missile Defense Agency in Washington, DC issued the contract (HQ0006-03-C-0047). See also Raytheon release.

May 11/06: Test. Successful launch was achieved of a THAAD interceptor missile marks the 1st fully integrated flight test. This is not an not intercept test, which would take place in 2007. Instead, it tests all THAAD components, including the mobile launcher, radar, fire control and communications element, and the interceptor missile.

A Raytheon release touts the performance of its THAAD Ground-Based Radar in the test. The THAAD radar, developed by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), accomplished all test objectives, including communicating with the in-flight THAAD missile. Track and discrimination reports were successfully transmitted between the THAAD radar and fire control. Performance of the fire control software, jointly developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, was also successful. See also Lockheed Martin MFC release.

Additional Readings

• Raytheon – Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY-2)

• RadarTutorial.EU – AN/TPY-2

• DID DII – THAAD: Reach Out and Touch Ballistic Missiles. TPY-2 serves as its GBR component.

• Wikipedia – IAI EL/M-2080 Green Pine. Israel’s “Green Pine” radar works with its Arrow missile system in the same role as the TPY-2, and competes with it on the international market. Green Pine has a shorter range, though: just 500 km. It has been exported to India as the Swordfish, and a Green Pine radar is also believed to be in Azerbaijan. A follow-on “Super Green Pine/ Great Pine” radar with ranges to 800-900 km will be exported to South Korea.

• US NRC (September 2012) – Making Sense of Ballistic Missile Defense: An Assessment of Concepts and Systems for U.S. Boost-Phase Missile Defense in Comparison to Other Alternatives

• Mostly Missile Defense (July 28/12) – Ballistic Missile Defense: Why the Current GMD System’s Radars Can’t Discriminate. But big X-band radars could.

• Raytheon (Sept 9/11) – Raytheon’s TPY-2 Radar Performs in Two Modes – Forward-Based and Terminal