Lockheed Martin delivers first TPY-4 radar to USAF under 3DELRR effort

Lockheed Martin has delivered the first US Air Force (USAF) TPY-4 radar after successfully completing early phase testing, the company announced on 7 April 2025.

The delivery marks a significant milestone for the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) programme as it marks the beginning of government testing and puts the programme back on track from an earlier stumble.

The USAF awarded a Lot 2 3DELRR production contract in January 2024, but in May 2024, when the US Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation observed a period of government-led developmental testing using Lockheed Martin’s 3DELRR test article, the USAF paused the formal government-led developmental testing period after one of four planned weeks of testing due to system deficiencies.

This followed a situation where the US Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General reported in August 2023 that the USAF did not use its Middle Tier of Acquisition pathway correctly and thus moved the 3DELRR effort to the rapid fielding path “almost three years early”.

Lockheed Martin’s subsequent 3DELRR troubleshooting now appears to have been successfully concluded.

The 3DELRR TPY-4 is designed to serve as the organic radar for the USAF’s Control and Reporting Center (CRC) Weapon System (WS), providing the capability to perform long-range detection of both air-breathing threats and theatre ballistic missiles. The TPY-4 employs a single-face, rotating, active electronically scanned-array (AESA) with a highly distributed and scalable digital beam-forming architecture.

Lockheed Martin was selected by the USAF in support of its 3DELRR rapid prototyping programme in February 2022. The USAF ultimately plans to acquire up to 35 3DELRR systems.