Airbus Defense and Space Provides TRS-4D Active AESA Radars to the Freedom Class LCS

May 18, 2015

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Airbus Defense and Space, Inc. is now under contract with its affiliate, Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, to provide an additional TRS-4D naval radar for the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program through Freedom Class LCS prime contractor, Lockheed Martin. The radar is planned to go aboard LCS-21 following the already planned installations of TRS-4D aboard LCS-17 and LCS-19.

The TRS-4D radar for LCS is a rotating version of the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) fixed panel TRS-4D radar currently going aboard the German F-125 class frigates. It combines mechanical and electronic azimuth scanning to achieve fast generation of target tracks.

System characteristics of the TRS-4D are an excellent match for the environment faced by LCS and its evolution to a frigate. The radar's AESA technology delivers increased sensitivity to detect smaller targets with greater accuracy, as well as faster track generation to give LCS more time to react to advanced threats.

This software-defined radar is programmable by the customer, enabling changes to radar characteristics to match future threats that evolve over the life of the ship. The ability to customize the characteristics of the TRS-4D helps enable LCS to evolve through its service life and adapt to evolving required operational capabilities and projected operational environments in an affordable manner.

"Superior performance and adaptability for the future are key characteristics of the TRS-4D radar," said Mike Cosentino, President of Airbus Defense and Space, Inc. "It supports the LCS evolution to a frigate, meets current and future threats, and can readily be adapted to change over the service life of the ship."

Combining multiple capabilities within a single radar is one way that TRS-4D contributes to the affordability of LCS. Employing state of the art AESA technology, the TRS-4D is a three-dimensional, multi-mode naval radar for 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. LCS affordability is further enhanced by the reliability of the TRS-4D's solid state system design, keeping maintenance costs low and further contributing to lower LCS life cycle costs.

Littoral combat ships are fast, agile surface combatants optimized for operating in the highly trafficked near-shore regions of the world. Through its innovative modular design, LCS can be reconfigured for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and mine countermeasures in the near term, and adapt its capabilities for changing threats and scenarios that will occur over its service life.

 

 

Source : Airbus Defense and Space, Inc.