Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $281,076,408 hybrid (fixed-price-incentive (firm target), firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable (no profit/fee)) contract to acquire 18 Sentinel A4 Radar Systems.

Lockheed Martin Sentinel A4 radar (Picture source: U.S. Army)

Three bids were solicited with three bids received. Work will be performed in Liverpool, New York, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2026. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $6,500,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-19-C-0058).

The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel is a 3D radar used to alert and queue Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) weapons to the locations of hostile targets approaching their front line forces. The Sentinel radar is deployed with forward area air defense units of the U.S. Army. It is an X-band range-gated, pulse-Doppler radar system. The antenna uses phase-frequency electronic scanning technology, forming sharp 3D pencil beams covering large surveillance and track volume. The radar automatically acquires, tracks, classifies, identifies and reports targets, including cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and both rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. It uses a high scan rate (30 RPM) and operates at a range of 40 km (25 mi).

The radar is designed with high resistance to electronic countermeasures (ECM). Mounted on a towed platform, it can be positioned remotely from the rest of the unit, operated autonomously and communicate with the Fire Distribution Center (FDC) via a wideband fiber-optic link. It can also distribute its data over a SINCGARS radio network.

Lockheed Martin Sentinel A4 radar (Picture source: U.S. Army)