On Monday, Raytheon announced the delivery of its first missile defense radar enhanced to trace hypersonic weapons to the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

Traditionally, the MDA has employed AN/TPY-2 radars for ballistic missile tracking. The latest iteration of this system incorporates a Gallium Nitride (GaN) populated array, enhancing its capabilities, according to Raytheon.

This newly upgraded AN/TPY-2 X-band radar marks the 13th such system Raytheon has provided to the agency, but it is the first to feature this advanced technology. It will integrate into the U.S. Army’s eighth Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery.

The radar’s forward-based mode allows it to offer crucial cueing data to other defense systems like the U.S. Navy’s Aegis and the Army’s Patriot missile defense systems. It is primarily employed by the Army’s THAAD system.

The GaN technology, already integrated into the Army’s Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defense System radar, which was recently approved for low-rate production, now also enhances the Patriot air-and-missile defense system as its new tracking sensor.

Raytheon operates a GaN foundry in Andover, Massachusetts, where it has developed this capability over many years. John Norman, Raytheon’s vice president of requirements and capabilities for Air and Space Defense Systems, spoke to Defense News about the advancements, noting the radar operates “at twice the power we had before.”

“This means you get twice the sensitivity and twice the range. It’s incredibly efficient,” he explained. “We can now detect incoming targets more effectively and make crucial discriminations.”

The enhanced GaN technology allows for higher fidelity in detecting when a warhead detaches from a missile body and in identifying any decoys that might be present.

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“The result is significantly improved target specificity,” added Norman.

Hypersonic threats, which travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5 and can maneuver during the glide phase, pose a substantial challenge in tracking. Addressing these threats early in flight at extended ranges is crucial.

“The upgraded radar will enable engagement with these targets sooner in the defense cycle,” Norman stated.

Furthermore, the technology increases the duration between failures or maintenance needs.

“It’s operational more often,” Norman commented. “This addresses about 90% of the challenges we faced in that mission area because while the missiles and firing batteries are always ready, having reliable sensors ensures effective coverage of the area we need to defend.”

Although the MDA is the first U.S. recipient of the AN/TPY-2 radar with GaN, Saudi Arabia was the first country to receive this upgraded version, Norman revealed.

Raytheon is now collaborating with the Army to leverage the company’s investments to enhance the existing systems. They are also focusing on meeting other modernization requirements, such as integrating new computer components and signal data processing equipment to streamline the electronics unit, making sustainment and maintenance more manageable, according to Norman.