The AN/TPY-2 Surveillance Transportable Radar, also called the Forward Based X-Band Transportable (FBX-T) is a long-range, very high-altitude active

digital antenna array Digital antenna array (DAA) is a smart antenna with multi channels digital beamforming, usually by using fast Fourier transform (FFT). The development and practical realization of digital antenna arrays theory started in 1962 under the guidanc ...

X band surveillance radar designed to add a tier to existing missile and air defence systems. It has a range of up to , depending on target/mode. Made by

Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

, it is the primary radar for the

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in th ...

(THAAD) missile system, but also cues the AN/MPQ-53 radar of the

MIM-104 Patriot The MIM-104 Patriot is a mobile interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives it ...

system. Patriot PAC-3 is a lower-altitude missile and air defense system than THAAD. In accordance with the

Joint Electronics Type Designation System The Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System (AN System. JAN) and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Depa ...

(JETDS), the "''AN/TPY-2''" designation represents the second design of an Army-Navy

electronic device Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other electrically charged particles. It is a subfield of physics and ...

for ground transportable

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

radar system. The JETDS system also now is used to name all

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

electronic systems. The AN/TPY-2 is a missile-defense radar that can detect, classify, track and intercept ballistic missiles. It has two operating modes – one to detect ballistic missiles as they rise, and another that can guide interceptors toward a descending warhead. Once it detects the missile, it acquires it, tracks it, and uses its powerful radar and complex computer algorithms to discriminate between the warhead and non-threats such as countermeasures in order to destroy the missile with a hit to kill kinetic warhead. The AN/TPY-2 is a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, which operates in the 8.55–10 GHz

X band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0–11.2&nbs ...

. Raytheon builds it as part of an X-band family, along with the National Missile Defense (NMD) X-Band Radar (XBR) and AN/FPS-129 HAVE STARE. The use of X band provides better target resolution than lower frequency bands, for example the

L band The L band is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designation for the range of frequencies in the radio spectrum from 1 to 2 gigahertz (GHz). This is at the top end of the ultra high frequency (UHF) band, at the lower en ...

, though lower frequency bands generally have better performance in detecting targets with a low

radar cross section Radar cross-section (RCS), denoted σ, also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected. An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy b ...

(RCS). The X band frequency and narrow beam width improve differentiation, or “range resolution,” between smaller objects, such as between warheads, clutter, and decoys. Once the information about the threat of missile is received, determining information such as its speed and trajectory, this data is immediately passed along to ballistic

missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...

system (BMDS) tracking, discrimination, and fire control radars downstream. This approach provides extending sensor coverage, the possibility to extend the BMDS battlespace, and the ability to complicate missiles ability to penetrate the defense system. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Raytheon plan to improve detection range and sensitivity of the X-band TPY-2 missile defense radar through the introduction of gallium nitride semiconductor components. On September 25th 2024, RTX (Raytheon) announced that they had completed their first TPY-2 with a full complement of

GaN The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places * Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated '' ...

devices.

Deployment

The

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

developed the system and remains responsible for its use by

air defense artillery The Air Defense Artillery Branch is the Anti-aircraft warfare, air defense branch of the United States Army, specializing in the use of anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface-to-air missiles) to conduct anti-aircraft warfare operations. In the ...

in theater and tactical applications. As a component of national ballistic missile defense, the U.S.

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is a component of the Federal government of the United States, United States government's United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense responsible for developing a comprehensive Missile defense, defe ...

is responsible for AN/TPY-2 applications. It has been deployed in Japan to collect strategic-level information on North Korean missile developments, as well as warning Japan of incoming warheads. Also, AN/TPY-2 radar in Shariki region is able to scan Russian territory near Japan. Japan has bought both PAC-3 for point defense, and is upgrading the AEGIS systems on its Kongo-class destroyers so they can use the longer-range

RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 The RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is a ship-based surface-to-air missile used by the United States Navy to intercept ballistic missiles as a part of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although primarily designed as an anti-ballistic mis ...

theater ballistic missile defence. An AN/TPY-2 is based in Alaska as part of

United States national missile defense National missile defense (NMD) refers to the nationwide antimissile program the United States has had under development since the 1990s. After the renaming in 2002, the term now refers to the entire program, not just the ground-based intercepto ...

development. The U.S. has agreed to provide it to Israel, to complement their two-tier Arrow 2 missile and Patriot PAC-3 missile defense. It complements the fixed AN/FPS-129 HAVE STARE X-Band "large dish" radar, located at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Smaller mobile X-band dishes, not yet designated, may also be paired with the AN/TPY-2. The 1st Space Brigade now supervises U.S. Army TPY-2 radar sites (batteries) in Qatar, Turkey, and Israel (13th Missile Defence Battery).

References

External links

''GlobalSecurity.org'' - AN/FPS-129 HAVE STARE X-Band Dish radar
Air defence radar networks Military radars of the United States Army Military electronics of the United States

Deployment

References

See also

External links