On 15 August 2022, Northrop Grumman announced that their AN/TPS-80 GROUND/AIR TASK ORIENTED RADAR (G/ATOR) successfully detected and tracked multiple simultaneous cruise missile threats during a recent live-fire test at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. During the test, the AN/TPS-80 successfully tracked each target after launch and passed the relevant information onto the TAMIR missiles, resulting in the successful interception of several cruise missile representative targets.
The tests were part of the US Marine Corps’ (USMC) GROUND-BASED AIR DEFENSE MEDIUM-RANGE INTERCEPT CAPABILITY (GBAD MRIC), a developmental programme aimed at developing a mobile Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) and counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) capability for the USMC to protect friendly assets from airborne threats including cruise missiles and aircraft.
The GBAD MRIC programme, led by the USMC, integrates the AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR radar with the Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S) Command & Control (C2) system, and components of the Israeli IRON DOME System including a trailer-based variant of the launcher and the Tamir missile. The system is being developed in support of the Marine Corps Force Design 2030 strategy.
The AN/TPS-80 is a towed trailer-based radar which can be rapid emplaced and displaced, allowing it to be repositioned quickly after operation to avoid enemy targeting. Within the GBAD MRIC programme, the AN/TPS serves as a multifunctional radar, undertaking both the search and fire control roles.
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