The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to demonstrate technologies for its Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) program.

Designed to replace the current AN/TPS-75 radar systems, 3DELRR will be the primary Air Force ground-based, long-range radar for detecting airborne threats. The pre-engineering and manufacturing development contract, valued at $34.7 million, will last 15 months.

Based on Northrop Grumman's active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar technology, the company's 3DELRR solution is a highly mobile, affordable and reliable radar system that will give the Air Force powerful new capabilities for air defense.

"We are pleased to have been chosen to participate in demonstrating the Air Force's future ground radar system," said Jeff Palombo, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems division.

"Because our solution is based on mature AESA technology and its implementation into multiple radar systems for airborne and ground-based applications, Northrop Grumman is uniquely able to offer significant cost savings to the Air Force over the life cycle of the program.

"This includes the near-term engineering and manufacturing development phase as well as the potential to accelerate 3DELRR IOC Initial Operational Capability, which will save operational and maintenance costs on the aging TPS-75 systems."

Northrop Grumman is a leader in the development of AESA radar systems. The company's ground radar systems include the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar and Highly Adaptable Multi-Mission Radar AESA systems, and the solid-state AN/TPS-78 and TPS-703 radar systems.