The Raytheon Ghost Eye MR air defense radar at the Paris Air Show.
LE BOURGET—Raytheon Technologies sees an emerging demand in Europe for its new, longer-range radar for the National Advanced Surface-To-Air Missile System (NASAMS) amid a growing interest in air defense following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Raytheon recently unveiled the GhostEye MR radar for medium-range air defenses, which takes a version of the gallium nitride active electronically scanned array radar from the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor from the U.S. Army and places it on a rotator. This provides similar range to the Patriot air defense system and lets the NASAMS use the “full capability” of longer-range munitions such as the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, says Tom Laliberty, Raytheon’s president of land and air defense systems.
This allows air and missile defense operators to have more time to detect and react, along with another option for an interceptor, he says.
Speaking at the Paris Air Show here, Laliberty says the war in Ukraine has sparked interest in GhostEye MR and renewed interest in the Patriot air and missile defense system. Ukraine has used NASAMS extensively, with officials claiming a near-perfect intercept rate.
The German-led NATO Sky Shield Initiative has also brought together 17 nations to strengthen air and missile defense across the alliance. This effort has stressed commonality across operators, including with NASAMS and Patriot, Laliberty says.
France has also organized a separate air and missile defense conference on June 19 to coincide with the Paris Air Show to lead its own joint effort.
