OREANDA-NEWS. General Dynamics C4 Systems received a contract modification to the Range Radar Replacement Program (RRRP) to develop a new High/Medium Power Close-in Radar system. The Close-in radar system is mobile and will provide unprecedented fidelity when tracking munitions and other targets at a range of 37 miles or more. The contract modification is valued at USD 16 million and funds the engineering, development and initial manufacture of the new radar system. General Dynamics C4 Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

“The Close-in radar system is the second in a new generation of range instrumentation radars that deliver cost-effective, digital technologies and systems needed to meet the Army’s goal of modernizing test ranges in Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico and Maryland,” said Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics C4 Systems.

The Close-in radar system joins the Fly-out radar system, which was the first range instrumentation radar system ordered using the RRRP contract. The Close-in radar system will acquire information about the launch and early stages of flight for munitions and other low-flying objects. The Fly-out radar system, which has just completed the requirements phase of development, is capable of tracking up to 40 test objects over a range of 60 miles. The new mobile radar systems eliminate the cost and downtime associated with maintaining and moving decades-old, antiquated radar systems that are currently in place at Army test ranges.

A General Dynamics-led team was awarded the Range Radar Replacement Program in June 2012. The program replaces an aging fleet of radar systems currently operating at U.S. Army test ranges located at White Sands Test Center, N.M.; Yuma Test Center, Ariz.; Aberdeen Test Center, Md.; and Redstone Test Center, Ala.

The General Dynamics RRRP solution leverages XSTAR family of instrumentation radar developed by STAR Dynamics.

The General Dynamics team is led by General Dynamics C4 Systems, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and includes STAR Dynamics of Hilliard, Ohio; Georgia Tech Research Institute of Atlanta; and EO Imaging of Melbourne, Fla. Work will be performed in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Kilgore, Longview and Richardson, Texas; State College, Pa.; Hilliard, Ohio; Reston, Va.; Fort Walton Beach and Melbourne, Fla.; and Atlanta.