Raytheon Upgrading Patriot missile defense radar with 3 face GaN AESA

Raytheon: New Power for Patriot - Revolutionary technology
is remaking the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System

The wall of plated aluminum squares was the first full-sized version of a futuristic radar Raytheon is developing for the legendary Patriot Air and Missile Defense System. Developed in record time using a powerful technology called gallium nitride (GaN), the new radar costs less to build, own and operate, and will give defenders an unblinking, 360-degree view.
The Raytheon-funded technology may become the latest upgrade in a system that has protected nations for decades. It is intended to replace the familiar, circular “honeycomb” face of the Patriot's radar for one that is smooth and square, with two additional smaller arrays that stare backward.
Instead of one massive transmitter, Raytheon's new radar uses individual transmit-receive modules that slide into the array like stacking children’s blocks. Think of the legacy honeycomb as a powerful flashlight shining through many lenses. This new, active electronically scanned radar array, or AESA, is more like many powerful flashlights operating together.
"You can lose some of the transmitters and it still works," said Norm Cantin, Raytheon’s director of Patriot AESA programs.

The Biggest Thing Since Silicon:
Raytheon’s Gallium Nitride Breakthrough

Upgraded GaN AESA radar for Patriot missile defense system moves forward - Military Embedded Systems

The GaN-based AESA Patriot uses three antenna arrays mounted on a mobile radar shelter to provide 360-degrees of radar coverage. The main AESA array is a bolt-on replacement antenna for the current Gallium Arsenide based antenna. The GaN-based AESA array measures roughly 9 feet wide by 13 feet tall, and is oriented toward the primary threat. Patriot's new rear panel arrays are a quarter the size of the main array and enable the system look behind and to the sides of the main array, allowing Patriot to engage threats in all directions.
Earlier this year, Raytheon experts built a GaN-based AESA Patriot rear-panel array, integrated it with the current Patriot radar using the existing, recently upgraded, back-end processing hardware and software, and tracked targets of opportunity to create a 360-degree view.
The recently accomplished engineering milestones include:

• Completing construction of the AESA main array structure.
• Constructing the AESA arrays' radar shelter.
• Integrating receivers and a radar digital processor into the radar shelter.
• Delivering the shelter to Raytheon's test facility in Pelham, N.H.
• Testing the radar's cooling sub-system.

Previous/Related:

• spendergast: US Approves Raytheon Export of GAN Technology in Patriot AESA Radar
• Defense.gov Contracts for Friday, August 15, 2014
  Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Andover, Massachusetts was awarded
  a $109,078,477  firm-fixed-price level-of-effort foreign military sales
• Germany, 
• Greece, 
• Israel,
• Japan, 
• Saudi Arabia, 
• Korea, 
• Kuwait,  
• Netherlands, 
• Spain, 
• Taiwan, 
• Ukraine

contract with options for engineering services for  the Patriot System Tracking Radar.

Work will be performed in Andover, Tewksbury, and Burlington,  Massachusetts; El Segundo, California; El Paso, Texas; Huntsville, Alabama; Pelham, New Hampshire;  and White Sands, New Mexico, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2015. One bid was  solicited and one received. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds ($58,886), fiscal 2014 research, development, test, and evaluation funds ($5,287,374), and fiscal 2014 and 2010 other  procurement funds ($76,462,599) are being obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting  Command, Redstone
Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-14-C-0093).

Raytheon Co., Andover, Massachusetts, was awarded a $59,486,000 modification (P00014) to foreign military sales (Taiwan) contract W31P4Q-11-C-0317 for advice and assistance in the training, planning, fielding, deployment, operation, maintenance, and sustainment of the Patriot Air Defense System, associated equipment, and logistics support elements. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of  $59,486,000 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Dec. 31, 2017. Work will be performed in Taiwan. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal,
Alabama, is the contracting activity.

• GaN-Based AESA Radars Near Full Production | Systems content from Microwaves & RF

 Gallium-nitride (GaN) transistors have become a staple in military-grade radars, thanks to their ability to boost the amplification of microwave signals. GaN also carries a higher voltage than other semiconductor materials, such as silicon, allowing the system to operate on less power and produce less heat. Because of these properties, Raytheon is using GaN-based active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) to refine the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System. With this latest upgrade, Raytheon is one step closer to replacing the single forward panel on existing Patriot systems with a series of AESA radar antennas. Full production is scheduled for early next year.

• spendergast: IG says USMC managing G/ATOR well, need TEMP for GaN 
• Brookner, E., "Recent developments and future trends in phased arrays," in Phased Array Systems & Technology, 2013 IEEE International Symposium on , vol., no., pp.43-53, 15-18 Oct. 2013
  doi: 10.1109/ARRAY.2013.6731797
  

  Abstract: An update is here given of the amazing advances in phased arrays from small low cost arrays to large arrays. Now >500 A/C AESAs have been deployed with > 400,000 operational flight hours; >1.8 million T/Rs manufactured; over a million blind spot car radars manufactured; Patriot upgraded to 2012 state-of-the-art; 8 AN/TPY-2s delivered and 5 more to be built; JLENS, CJR, AN/SPY-3 and Dual Band Radar about to be deployed; DBF advancing with Australian S-band CEAFAR, which has A/D at each element, having undergone sea tests; AMDR and Space Fence have undergone their initial development phase; GaN allowing 5x power for same footprint as GaAs; 3D integrated circuit digital chips in production - Moore's Law marches on; DARPA looking at developing a low cost 94 GHz array with a cost goal of $1/element; DARPA COSMOS program taking monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) to the next level allowing mixed signal integration.

  keywords: {III-V semiconductors;MMIC;antenna phased arrays;gallium arsenide;gallium compounds;mixed analogue-digital integrated circuits;phased array radar;three-dimensional integrated circuits;wide band gap semiconductors;3D integrated circuit digital chips;A/C AESA;AMDR;AN/SPY-3;AN/TPY-2s;Australian S-band CEAFAR;CJR;DARPA COSMOS program;DBF;GaAs;GaN;JLENS;MMIC;Moore's law;Patriot;Space Fence;blind spot car radars;dual band radar;frequency 94 GHz;mixed signal integration;monolithic microwave integrated circuits;operational flight hours;phased arrays;sea tests;Missiles;Phased arrays;Radar detection;Radar tracking;Space vehicles;Spaceborne radar;2 Cobra Judy Replacement;3DELRR;AMDR;CJR;Dual Band Radar;EBG;FPGA;MEMS;MPAR;NexGen;OAM;Phased array, AESA, radar, active arrays, passive arrays, PATRIOT, JLENS, THAAD, AN/TPY;SAR;SPY-3;Space Fence Radar;Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radar;car radar;electromagnetic band-gap material;graphene;metamaterials;orbital angular momentum;signal processing},
  URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6731797&isnumber=6731782
   
• Schmid, U.; Sledzik, H.; Schuh, P.; Schroth, J.; Oppermann, M.; Bruckner, P.; van Raay, F.; Quay, R.; Seelmann-Eggebert, M., "Ultra-Wideband GaN MMIC Chip Set and High Power Amplifier Module for Multi-Function Defense AESA Applications," in Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on , vol.61, no.8, pp.3043-3051, Aug. 2013
  doi: 10.1109/TMTT.2013.2268055
  

  Abstract: This paper presents measurement results of a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chip set and of an ultra-wideband high power amplifier (HPA) transmit module for multi-functional next-generation active electronically scanned antenna radar/electronic warfare/communication applications targeting the frequency range from 6 to 18 GHz. The reported chip set consists of a driver amplifier (DA) MMIC and an HPA MMIC on a high-power gallium-nitride process with high electronic-mobility transistors. The DA reaches a power gain of 11 dB and maximum output power of 2 W, which is sufficient to drive a final stage in a balanced configuration. The HPA reaches a typical output power of 12.5 and 10.6 W in pulsed and continuous wave (CW) operation, respectively. Measurements on the module level indicate 18.5-W typical output power in both pulsed and CW operation.

  keywords: {III-V semiconductors;MMIC;electron mobility;gallium compounds;ultra wideband technology;driver amplifier;frequency 6 GHz to 18 GHz;gain 11 dB;high electronic-mobility transistors;high power amplifier module;high-power gallium-nitride process;maximum output power;monolithic microwave integrated circuit chip set;multifunction defense AESA applications;power 10.6 W;power 12.5 W;power 18.5 W;ultrawideband MMIC chip set;ultrawideband high power amplifier transmit module;Gallium nitride (GaN);high power amplifiers (HPAs);microwave integrated circuits;transmit modules;ultra-wideband technology},
  URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6547767&isnumber=6574231