Ballistic missile raids -- large numbers of simultaneously launched weapons -- may soon have a tougher time penetrating allied air defenses. Raytheon has started upgrading the AN/TPY-2 ballistic missile defense radar's signal and data processing equipment (SDPE) to enable the "brains" of the radar to more quickly and accurately discriminate threats from non-threats and enhance radar performance to protect against missile raids.

An integral element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), AN/TPY-2 is a mobile X-band radar that helps protect the U.S., warfighters and America's allies and security partners from the more than 6,300 ballistic missiles that, according to U.S. intelligence estimates, are not controlled by the U.S., NATO, China or Russia.

"Raytheon is building on the AN/TPY-2's record of outstanding performance by improving the system because rogue states are constructing more ballistic missiles that have longer ranges and are increasingly more sophisticated," said Dave Gulla, vice president of Global Integrated Sensors in Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business.

"The security of the U.S., our warfighters and our allies depends on having reliable, capable systems like the AN/TPY-2 to help counter the growing ballistic missile threat."

The upgrade, which is being performed on AN/TPY-2s bound for a foreign military sales customer in the Middle East, will also be inserted into new AN/TPY-2s that Raytheon is building for the U.S. Raytheon is replacing the old SDPE with a state-of-the-art, commercial off-the-shelf computer that has approximately five times the processing power of the old system. The new SDPE also weighs less, uses less power and takes up less space than the older system, providing space for future growth.

AN/TPY-2 is a high resolution, mobile, rapidly deployable X-band radar capable of providing long-range acquisition, precision track and discrimination of short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The AN/TPY-2 may be deployed globally in either terminal or forward-based mode.

In terminal mode, the AN/TPY-2 serves as the search, detect, track, discrimination and fire-control radar for the THAAD weapon system, enabling the THAAD missile to intercept and destroy threats. In forward-based mode, the AN/TPY-2 cues the BMDS by detecting, discriminating and tracking enemy ballistic missiles in the ascent phase of flight.

+ AN/TPY-2 has performed flawlessly in both terminal and forward-based mode in all major tests.

+ On Oct. 25, 2012, two AN/TPY-2 radars - one terminal and one forward-based - participated in FTI-01, the Missile Defense Agency's largest and most complex exercise. In a complex raid scenario involving multiple targets, both radars met or exceeded all test objectives.

+ On April 15, 2011, a forward-based AN/TPY-2 extended the battlespace by enabling a Standard Missile-3 to launch on remote and intercept a separating intermediate-range ballistic missile.

+ Raytheon has delivered eight AN/TPY-2s to the Missile Defense Agency. Some of those radars are currently helping defend the U.S. and its allies in the European, Pacific and Central Command areas of responsibilities.