尖端科技軍事雜誌社

  雷神科技旗下的雷神飛彈防禦公司發表了一個系列的先進防空與飛彈防禦雷達，具備強化的感應器性能與可靠性——可以改進防禦能力以因應現今和未來不斷擴散與演變的先進威脅。

  一個系列創新的雷達值得一個新的命名。把能量和性能轉變成決定性優勢的雷達，一個守衛者、一個保護者、一個雷達負責以更遠的距離、更快的速度與各種方向掃瞄天際，找到其他手段無法察覺的威脅。

  雷神把這個系列稱為鬼眼（GhostEyeTM）。該系列的第一款是低空層防空與飛彈防禦雷達。

  雷神飛彈防禦公司正在為美國陸軍製造的雷達是低空層防空與飛彈防禦感應器（Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, LTAMDS）。作為這個系列中的第一款雷達，雷神公司現在稱呼它為鬼眼，而且正在為美國陸軍的LTAMDS專案生產這一款雷達。

  該系列中的第二款雷達是雷神飛彈防禦公司基於美國陸軍LTAMDS的進步，同時另外研發了可以極大化國家先進地對空飛彈系統（National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, NASAMS）之能力的鬼眼中距離雷達。鬼眼已在美國陸軍協會（Association of the US Army）2021年10月的年度會議與裝備展覽中發表。

  雷神公司的新產品 – 鬼眼建立了一個系列的感應器、無所不見的雷達身份，能藉著氮化鎵的威力，以更遠的距離、更快的速度與各種方向，看見其他手段所看不見的威脅。而此起點就是雷神為美國陸軍製造的低空層防空與反飛彈感應器專案的新名稱雷達。

  雖然雷神賦予LTAMDS的名稱已經改變，但這款雷達的先進技術仍然持續。當第一批低空層防空與飛彈防禦感應器在2022年交付美國陸軍時，它們將會是最新一代的防空與飛彈防禦雷達，提供傑出的能力以因應擴散中、且壓力越來越大的威脅，比如高超音速飛彈。

  就算威脅是先進的，鬼眼仍技高一籌。

從每個角度偵測威脅

  鬼眼雷達提供360度覆蓋且使用主動電子掃瞄陣列（Active Electronically Scanned Array, AESA）和氮化鎵（GaN）。雖然GaN電路材料被商業使用在從LED燈泡到智能電話等各種東西上，但雷神在馬薩諸塞州擁有一座晶片廠專門生產軍用GaN。

  雷神在過去20年以來已大量投資GaN、AESA技術、以及先進製造。GaN會強化雷達信號、增強雷達在遠距離的敏感度，帶來更高的解析度和更多的能力。

 

進展順利

  雷神公司的鬼眼雷達首次引起注目是在美國陸軍提出新式先進雷達需求的時候。在2019年夏季，雷神飛彈防禦公司生產的LTAMDS參加了美國陸軍的實用感應競賽。在新墨西哥州白沙試驗場舉行的測試包括實戰化場景對抗真正的目標和模擬的威脅。

  雷神創新的設計超過了性能要求，於是在同年10月獲選得到政府合約。在獲得合約之後不到5個月，雷神已製造了第一個雷達天線陣列而且完成第一個安裝部分陣列元件的LTAMDS雷達天線的室內測試。在獲得合約一年之內，雷達已能偵測。

  「美國陸軍制定了嚴格而且必要的時程表，」鬼眼的專案主任比爾·彼德森說。他補充說：「時程表是絕對必須遵守的，因為威脅正在高速度演變和擴散。陸軍需要一款先進雷達，我們讓陸軍看見雷達進展順利而且準時。」

自從2019年10月獲得授予合約，雷神鬼眼雷達的研發持續進化，並達成所有的里程碑。第一批雷達預計在2022年第4季運行。也就是在獲得合約後3年內完成6台可運行的雷達。

 

終端使用者的合作

  防務感應器研發流程中的一個關鍵，就是納入終端操作那些雷達人員的意見。為了做到這件事，雷神飛彈防禦公司做東主辦了「軍人接觸點」活動——在雷神的裝備、以及在軍人看到並接觸雷達的測試現場舉行會議，和雷達設計師以及工程師分享意見回饋，並討論裝備開發與特色，以確保此一系統符合使用者的期待，自2020年9月第一次舉行，迄今已有四次政府與產業界的工作小組會議。

  「軍人接觸點活動為雷神飛彈防禦公司提供了空前的機會讓用戶參與，」雷神預先計劃產品改進與維持技術主管賈斯汀·魏賽特說。會議不只是讓陸軍人員有機會近距離看到LTAMDS——雷神公司現在將之稱為鬼眼雷達，而且那些會議讓軍人有權力知曉應改進之處。

  「在設計階段初期提供戰鬥人員意見，給予我們獨特的能力，在正確的時間交付正確的能力給美國陸軍，」雷神的美國需求與能力部門副主任埃裏克·茂勒說。而且美國陸軍明顯重視這個成功。在2020下半年的一次接觸點活動中，陸軍派遣的與會隊伍人員來自防空與飛彈防禦測試特遣隊、陸軍能力管理、陸軍未來指揮、還有飛彈與太空專案執行辦公室。

  「這個團隊很樂於協助說明使用者的作戰概念以及使用需求，」茂勒說。光是看到雷達就開啟了很多主題的討論，包括戰術部署、裝備妥善率與陣地位置，還有更換與拆除部件。如果出現困難，美國陸軍在技術隊伍和生產隊伍深入的人員將會全程積極參與。

  這種團隊合作凸顯了鬼眼雷達成功的一個關鍵因素。「雷神飛彈防禦公司是以集體方式思考，就像『我們同在一起』和『我們跟陸軍一起做這件事』，」雷神飛彈防禦公司的美國需求與能力部門主任鮑勃·凱利說。「這完全是由合作...達到全部的目標。」

 

GhostEye: Nothing Goes Unseen

Raytheon Missiles & Defense unveils its next-gen radars’ new name

https://www.raytheonmissilesanddefense.com/....../ghos......

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, unveils its new name for a family of advanced air and missile defense radars: a series of radars with enhanced sensor performance and reliability—improving defense capability against the proliferation and evolution of the advanced threats of today and tomorrow.

A family of radars this revolutionary deserves a name. Radars that turn power and performance into a decisive advantage. A guardian, a defender, a radar charged with scanning the skies for otherwise unseen threats - at greater distances, at higher velocities, and from any direction.

Raytheon calls it GhostEye™. And it starts with the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Radar.

The radar that Raytheon Missiles & Defense is building for the U.S. Army is known as the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor （LTAMDS）. Now, as the first in a family of radars, Raytheon is calling it GhostEye, and producing it for the U.S. Army’s LTAMDS program.

The second in the family, and leveraging the advancements of the U.S. Army’s LTAMDS, Raytheon Missiles & Defense has separately, yet concurrently, developed GhostEye MR, a medium-range radar that maximizes the capabilities of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS. GhostEye MR will be unveiled at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2021 annual meeting and exhibition in October.

So, Raytheon’s new name, GhostEye, establishes the identity of a family of sensors, all-seeing radars, powered by Gallium Nitride, and able to detect otherwise unseen threats at greater distances, at higher velocities, and from any direction. And it starts with Raytheon’s new name for the radar the company is building for the U.S. Army’s Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor program.

And, while Raytheon’s name for LTAMDS has changed, the radar’s exceptional technology continues. When the first Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors are delivered to the Army in 2022, they will be the latest generation air and missile defense radar, providing exceptional capability against proliferating and increasingly stressful threats, such as hypersonic missiles.

Just as these threats are advanced, so too is GhostEye.

 

Detection from every angle

These radars provide 360-degree coverage and use active electronically scanned array, or AESA, and gallium nitride, or GaN. While GaN circuit material is used commercially in everything from LED lightbulbs to smartphones, Raytheon Missiles & Defense has a foundry in Massachusetts that produces GaN for military hardware.

The company has made significant investments over the past two decades in GaN as well as AESA technology and advanced manufacturing. GaN strengthens the radar signal and enhances its sensitivity for longer range, higher resolution and increased capacity.

 

Advancing on track

Raytheon’s GhostEye first came into focus when the U.S. Army put out a call for a new, advanced radar. In the summer of 2019, Raytheon Missiles & Defense produced the LTAMDS for the Army’s "Sense Off" competition where testing at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico included realistic scenarios against real targets and simulated threats.

The company’s innovative design exceeded requirements and was selected for the government contract in October that same year. Less than five months after contract award, it had built the first radar antenna array and completed indoor testing of the first partially populated LTAMDS radar antenna. Within that first year, the radar was sensing.

“The Army set a rigorous and necessary schedule,” said Bill Patterson, program director for GhostEye. He added that “the timeline...is imperative because the threat is evolving and proliferating at a blistering pace. The Army asked for an advanced radar, and we’re showing them that the radar is on track and on time.”

Since contract award in October 2019, Raytheon’s GhostEye continues to advance through development, achieving all key milestones. The first radars are planned to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2022. That’s six operational radars in just three years from contract award.

A pivotal part of the defense sensor’s development process has been incorporating the input of personnel who will ultimately operate the radar. To that end, Raytheon Missiles & Defense has been hosting Soldier Touchpoints — meetings at the company’s facilities and the test site where soldiers see and touch the radar, share feedback with its designers and engineers, and discuss design, development and features to ensure the system meets user expectations. There have been four such government-industry working groups since the first in September 2020.

“Soldier Touchpoint events provide Raytheon Missiles & Defense with an unprecedented opportunity for user involvement,” said Justin Weissert, the company’s P3I sustainment technical lead. The meetings have not only given Army teams a chance to see the LTAMDS — now as Raytheon calls it, GhostEye —radar up close, but they’ve also empowered the soldiers to inform improvements.

“Providing the warfighter’s early input during the design phase of the system has given us an unparalleled ability to deliver the right capability, at the right time, to the U.S. Army,” said Eric Maule, an associate director in U.S. Requirements and Capabilities for the company. And the Army is clearly invested in its success. At one Touchpoint in late 2020, it sent a team that included personnel from the Air and Missile Defense test detachment, Army Capability management, Army Futures Command, and the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space.

“This team was eager to roll up their sleeves and help clarify user concepts of operations and employment requirements,” Maule said. The mere sight of the radar kick-started discussions on a range of topics, including tactical deployment, equipment readiness and emplacement in addition to the replacement and removal of parts. If challenges arose, the U.S. Army members embedded in the technical and production teams were actively engaged along the way.

This teamwork highlights a key factor in the radar’s success. “Raytheon Missiles & Defense thinks in collective terms, as in ‘we are in it together’ and ‘we’re doing it with the Army,” the company’s U.S. Requirements and Capabilities Director, Bob Kelley said. “It is a complete collaboration...hitting all the marks.”