Sweden based defense company, SAAB, will be supplying its Giraffe AMB Multi Mode Radar (MMR) for the US Navy’s Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) class ship USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams, ESB 4. The sale also includes SAAB’s 9LV Naval Combat System for radar control and display delivering enhanced situational awareness as well as Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) capability.
The ship will be operated by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. In 2017, the U.S. selected SAAB’s Sea Giraffe MMR for the U.S. Coast Guard's newest class of ship, the Offshore Patrol Cutter. The MMR is a 3D, electronically scanned phased array radar providing high-radiated power, selectable waveforms, and modern signal processing to consistently achieve high performance across various marine environments. It is expected to strengthen the U.S. Military Sealift Command's capability by providing total situational awareness across a wide range of tasks including expeditionary warfare missions. The order demonstrates the Navy's continued confidence in SAAB as a strong partner and radar supplier.
The work will be carried out during the period of 2018-2020 at SAAB in Gothenburg, Sweden and Syracuse NY, U.S. In addition to the U.S. Expeditionary Sea Base and Offshore Patrol Cutter class ships, SAAB’s Sea Giraffe AMB radar, which has the U.S. designation AN/SPS-77, is currently deployed on the U.S. Navy's Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship. SAAB is also developing a derivative of AN/SPS-77 known as AN/SPN-50, to meet the air traffic control needs for the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command.
