Northrop Pitches G/ATOR Radar to U.S. Marine Corps

The Marine Corps is buying 69 of Northrop Grumman's new multimission AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radars (GATOR) to replace five types of single mission radars, Jeffery C. Palombo, sector vice president for electronic systems with Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division, told reporters at AUSA. The GATOR, an active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, will replace air defense, air traffic control, counterfire, general acquisition and short-range air defense radars the Corps now uses.

The company has delivered two GATOR antennas under a program that began in 2007 and is to run through 2013. The antennas can be transported in a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter or a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. The full system requires additional vehicles for power and communications, but can be carried by a single C-130.

Palombo says GATOR is also a candidate for the Air Force's Three Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radar, a program created to replace the service's aging AN/TPS-75 air defense radar, and could meet nearly all Army requirements for a new air defense radar as well.