A U.S. Middle East security partner moved one step closer to gaining an enhanced ballistic missile defense capability when Raytheon completed the redesign of eight circuit card assemblies for a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) AN/TPY-2 radar.

The redesigned cards extend the advanced capabilities found within the original components, while incorporating technologies and processes previously unavailable when Raytheon delivered the first AN/TPY-2 in 2004. The new cards will be inserted into all new AN/TPY-2 radars Raytheon produces.

"The redesign ensures uninterrupted production of the AN/TPY-2 radar, a critical element in the defense against the growing ballistic missile threat that endangers the U.S., our warfighters, allies and partners," said Dave Gulla, vice president of Global Integrated Sensors in Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business.

"With more than 6,300 ballistic missiles outside the control of the U.S., NATO, Russia and China, Raytheon is seeing significantly increased demand for the capability the AN/TPY-2 radar delivers."

The AN/TPY-2s Raytheon is producing for the FMS customer will serve in terminal mode as the search, detect, track, discrimination and fire-control radar for the THAAD weapon system. U.S.-owned AN/TPY-2s deployed around the globe in forward-based mode cue the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) by detecting, discriminating and tracking enemy ballistic missiles in the ascent (boost) phase of flight.

An integral capability of the BMDS, AN/TPY-2 is a mobile X-band phased-array radar that helps protect the U.S., deployed forces, and America's allies and partners by searching, detecting, acquiring and tracking threat ballistic missiles and discriminating between threats and non-threats.

AN/TPY-2 is a high resolution, mobile, rapidly deployable X-band radar capable of providing long-range acquisition, precision track, and discrimination of all classes of ballistic missiles, from short-range ballistic missiles to intercontinental ballistic missiles.

+ 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 missile defense flight test. In a complex raid scenario involving multiple targets, both radars met or exceeded all test objectives.

+ Forward-based AN/TPY-2s in Japan, Israel and Turkey are currently enabling the protection of the U.S., deployed forces, and U.S. friends and allies from the growing threat of short-, medium- and long-range missiles.