Bahrain gets AN/TPS-59 Ballistic Missile Defense Radar
An AN/TPS-59(V)3B ballistic missile defense radar system has been delivered to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The radar proceeded smoothly through a site acceptance test in August and now is being used by the Bahrain Defence Force for air surveillance.
In May 2004, the U.S. Marine Corps awarded Lockheed Martin a $43.6 million contract to provide the long-range radar system to Bahrain, along with associated supplies, equipment and services, as a foreign military sale (FMS). Earlier in 2007, members of the Bahrain Defence Force were
trained how to operate and maintain the system at Lockheed Martin’s Radar Systems facility in Syracuse, New York, where the radar was built and tested.
“Thanks to its strategic location and its status as headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, Bahrain needs superior in-country defense systems,” said Congressman Jim Walsh.
The AN/TPS-59(V)3 is the only 360-degree coverage mobile radar in the world certified to detect tactical ballistic missiles. It can precisely predict missile launch and impact points, and cue defensive weapons against incoming threats. The radar can detect both single and multiple targets, and detect and track small air breathing targets such as aircraft. It is designed to operate with weapons systems such as the Patriot and Aegis missile defense systems.
The all-solid state AN/TPS-59(V)3 can be integrated with other sensors for improved launch and impact point prediction, extended range capabilities, cooperative engagement and joint tactical information distribution. The radar’s 740-kilometer (more than 400-mile) range exceeds
the range of 90 percent of the tactical ballistic missiles in the world today, and its mobility allows it to be forward-based to further extend the range of the system.
Built in the 1980s, 16 AN/TPS-59(V)3 radars continue to operate in theaters around the world, including support for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Subsequent upgrades and enhancements since then have maintained these radars at a state-of-the-art technology level.
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