Lockheed Martin Demonstrates Q-53 Counter-UAS Radar

Lockheed Martin has demonstrated its AN/TPQ-53 counter-fire radar’s ability to identify and track unmanned aerial systems and pass that information to a command and control nodeto counter emerging air threats.

"The demonstration showed that the Q-53 radar can provide soldiers in combat real time awareness of air threats," said Rick Herodes, Q-53 program director, Lockheed Martin Monday.

"The inherent flexibility of the Q-53's active electronically scanned array (AESA) hardware architecture allows us to constantly evolve the Q-53's software to deal with emerging threats. This demonstration provided further verification that the Q-53 enables the warfighter to stay ahead of changing global threats," Rick said.

The demonstration was part of the U.S. Army's Maneuver and Fires Integration Experiment (MFIX) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

In the demonstration, the Q-53 radar showed it can be readily adapted to provide both air surveillance and counter fire target acquisition in one tactical sensor.  The radar identified and tracked several unmanned aerial systems and provided data to Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control. Simultaneously, the Q-53 radar performed its original mission by providing accurate targeting data on rockets, artillery and mortars, providing a multimission radar (MMR) capability.

The solid-state phased array radar system detects, classifies, tracks and determines the location of enemy indirect fire in either 360- or 90-degree modes.