June 12, 2019 | International, Naval, Security, Other Defence
BALTIMORE – June 10, 2019 – The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) a $958 million contract for Lot 6 full-rate production of the Gallium Nitride-based (GaN) AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) systems. This contract provides an additional 30 units. The program is managed by Program Executive Officer Land Systems.
“Northrop Grumman and the Marine Corps have successfully partnered to create a best of ground and airborne radar solution that exceeds the current threat on the modern battlefield,” said Christine Harbison, vice president, land and avionics C4ISR, Northrop Grumman. “G/ATOR is a crucial capability that protects our warfighters and defends against today's threat environment and the threat environment of the future. We are excited to reach the full-rate production decision and continue providing advanced multi-mission functionality that meets our customer's mission needs, protects the warfighter in a rapidly changing threat environment, and has significant margin for capability growth.”
G/ATOR replaces five legacy systems operated by the Marine Corps with a single system, providing significant improvements in performance when compared to the legacy radar families in each of its modes. This results in reduced training, logistics and maintenance costs.
The AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR is an advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) multi-mission radar that leverages GaN to provide comprehensive real time, full-sector, 360-degree situational awareness against a broad array of threats. The highly expeditionary, three-dimensional, short-to-medium-range multi-role radar system is designed to detect, identify, and track cruise missiles, manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles as well as rockets, mortars and artillery fire.
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By: Mark Pomerleau The Marine Corps is creating new network battalions and companies in an effort to improve oversight and the command and control of its network. These new organizations — described as a “huge, huge deal” — are part of an effort to reduce the number of organizations charged with network functions. The move will also allow for more accurate readiness reporting, said Col. Ed Debish, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group. “Currently, we have six different commands that have something to do with managing the Marine Corps Enterprise Network,” he said at a Jan. 31 lunch hosted by the AFCEA Quantico chapter. Now, one commander — the head of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command — will oversee and manage these groups. “Primarily, what they're going to do is deliver enterprise business services down to the end user device," Debish told C4ISRNET following his remarks. "They're also going to be responsible for managing the BAN and LAN — the building area networks and the local area networks on the bases and stations around the Marine Corps.” The new commands will absorb the organizations that previously performed many of these functions, including the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Information Technology (IT) Support Centers, or MITSCs. “The problem that it was designed to solve was unity of command and unity of effort on the Marine Corps Enterprise Network. It's going to give us visibility all the way down to the end user device where we didn't have that visibility before,” he said. The arrangement will also help Marines better understand readiness of the network. Previously, it could be difficult to determine what equipment was working and part of the network. Now, with one command, those assessments should be easier, Debish said, as they'll be managed under a single entity. Additionally, the new organizations will help with one of the Marine Corps' top IT priorities: to deploy its network abroad in a more agile and mobile way. “The idea is to move that enterprise capability to the tactical edge with the deploying force,” Debish said. “If you were to just remotely connect back into the enterprise network, you're going over a VPN connection to a data center somewhere that might be thousands of miles removed from it. But if you lost that connection, then what happens? You don't have any access to any of your data or your network.” The first battalion will be created this year at Camp Pendleton. The battalion commander will assume command around April. The first company is expected to be created this year and be based out of Marine Corps Forces Europe/Africa, located in Germany. Next year, leaders expect to create the second and third network battalions at Camp Lejeune and Okinawa, respectively. https://www.c4isrnet.com/newsletters/daily-brief/2020/02/03/how-the-marine-corps-wants-to-improve-oversight-of-its-network/