Lockheed contracts Airbus for US Coast Guard cutter radar

Lockheed Martin has contracted Airbus DS Electronics and Border Security to deliver the TRS-3D Baseline D multi-mode radar for the U.S. Coast Guard’s ninth National Security Cutter (NSC).

The TRS-3D Baseline D, designated AN/SPS-75, utilizes gallium nitride (GaN) technology to deliver traditional TRS-3D robust performance while improving reliability and options for future development. Airbus TRS-3D radars have been aboard every NSC since the program’s inception.

“The AN/SPS-75 is the right choice to meet Coast Guard requirements for a multi-mode radar,” said Mike Cosentino, president of Airbus Defense and Space, Inc. “It is currently meeting operational requirements and is consistent with Coast Guard investments in training infrastructure ashore, as well as with their existing sustainment program.”

The contract to provide the AN/SPS-75 MMR is with Lockheed Martin, with whom Airbus has worked to provide radars for all prior NSCs.

Since its introduction in 1995, the radar became a global sales leader with more units being sold than any radar in its class. In the U.S. market, it is in the U.S. Navy inventory aboard Freedom-variant littoral combat ships and in the Coast Guard inventory aboard all NSCs, as well as at the service’s shore-based training center in Petaluma, Calif.

Employing the GaN technology, the TRS-3D is a three-dimensional, multi-mode naval radar for air and surface surveillance, target acquisition, self-defense, gunfire support and aircraft control. It automatically detects and tracks all types of air and sea targets, alleviating crew workload requirements.