Raytheon has demonstrated its Low-Power Radar's (LPR) ability to provide precision approach guidance to landing aircrafts from 15 nautical miles, which is five more miles than the current capability. They demonstrated this to military officials from the U.S. Navy, Army and Air Force in Brooksville, Fla. from June 26-28.
LPR is a small, one-meter square Active Electronically Scanned Array, or AESA, multi-mission x-band radar ideal for precision approach landings, aviation surveillance, precision weather observations, and small drone detection and tracking.
The LPR started out as a weather radar with an advanced dual-polarization capability that allows it to distinguish between heavy rain, hail, snow and sleet. It can also detect non-meteorological echoes from ground clutter, birds, and tornado debris. It does this by transmitting and receiving both horizontal and vertical polarizations, unlike most radars that only transmit and receive radio waves with a single polarization.
Because it's an AESA radar, it offers higher-quality images over conventional radars. Phased-array radars are also cheaper to maintain and offer adaptive beam scanning, which allows the radar to track more targets and interweave between different radar applications.
With no moving parts, LPRs are more reliable and easier to maintain, giving them longer lifetimes and lower life-cycle costs. The program is on track for initial production in 2019.
