6 April 2001
Lockheed Martin will refurbish eight AN/TPS-59M/34 radars for the government of Egypt under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. The US Marine Corps will handle the contracting activity for the $16 million programme that will be directed by the company's Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems (NE&SS)-Radar Systems unit in Syracuse.
The AN/TPS-59/M34 is a smaller version of the AN/TPS-59 and was delivered to Egypt in 1991 to complement the air defence mission of the AN/TPS-59 radars already in the country. Because, the M/34 is smaller, it is simpler to set up and relocate than the AN/TPS-59 and is mounted on both trailers and trucks.
It is used for early warning, situational awareness for air breathing threats such as aircraft while the larger AN/TPS-59, which was developed for the US Ballistic Missile Defense Organisation and the Marine Corps, is a tactical missile defence system with validated performance against ballistic missiles and air breathing threats.
The refurbishment of the M/34s will take place at a facility in Cairo. A similar activity took place for the AN/TPS-59 radars in 1995.
"This contract is an opportunity to train the Egyptian armed forces how to extend the life of their radars," said Hady Mourad, AN/TPS-59 product line manager. "With the upgrade programmes we already have in place for the AN/TPS-59 family of radars, we fully expect our Egyptian customer will enjoy the benefits for many years to come of owning the most cost-effective, early warning defence system of its kind currently available."
Under the new contract, the M/34 refurbishment programme will be completed by September, 2004.