MDA Seeks 2 Mobile Radar Prototypes After Iran Exposed AN/TPY-2 Vulnerability

1 articles · Updated · The War Zone · Aug 11

MDA has opened a pre-solicitation for Forward-Based Mode Radar Next, a successor to the AN/TPY-2, after this year’s attacks showed static and semi-mobile missile-defense radars can be hit.
The agency’s 2027 budget seeks funding for 2 prototypes and says the new radar must move by C-17 and tactical vehicles, set up within hours, and tear down within minutes to survive follow-on strikes.
MDA also wants remote operation, smaller onsite crews, open-architecture integration with C2BMC, and options to operate as one aperture or distributed arrays in contested electromagnetic environments.
Cost and production speed are central because Raytheon has built only 16 AN/TPY-2s in total, with each unit costing about $250 million to $300 million and taking years to deliver.
The push reflects a wider shift in missile defense as Iran’s strikes and cheap one-way drones, aided by commercial satellite imagery, GPS and satellite communications, make fixed radar sites easier to find and target.