The US Marine Corps (USMC) has awarded Northrop Grumman a $958 million (€846 million) contract for Lot 6 full-rate production of the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system, the company announced on 10 June. The contract provides for an additional 30 of the gallium arsenide (GaN)-based radar.

“Northrop Grumman and the Marine Corps have successfully partnered to create a best of ground and airborne radar solution that exceeds the current threat on the modern battlefield […] G/ATOR is a crucial capability that protects our warfighters and defends against today’s threat environment and the threat environment of the future. We are excited to reach the full-rate production decision and continue providing advanced multi-mission functionality that meets our customer’s mission needs, protects the warfighter in a rapidly changing threat environment, and has significant margin for capability growth,” commented Northrop Grumman Vice President, Land and Avionics C4ISR, Christine Harbison.

G/ATOR, an advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) multi-mission radar that leverages GaN technology to provide comprehensive, real-time 360° situational awareness against a broad range of threats, replaces five legacy systems operated by the Marine Corps with a single system. It provides significant improvements in performance when compared to the legacy radar families in each of its modes, resulting in reduced training, logistics and maintenance costs.