Northrop Grumman’s G/ATOR Passes Initial Operational Test and Evaluation

BALTIMORE. Northrop Grumman Corporation, in partnership with the United States Marine Corps, recently passed a successful Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) for the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) Blocks 1 and 2. Northrop Grumman’s AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR is an advanced, multi-mission Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar that provides comprehensive real time, 360 degree situational awareness.

IOT&E is a rigorous phase of testing that a new system undergoes to determine that it is operationally effective and suitable for fleet introduction. The milestone demonstrates viability and suitability of the system, and completion indicates the Marine Corps is ready to operate and field G/ATOR Blocks 1 and 2 in their current configuration. The commitment of both the Marine Corps and G/ATOR team to deliver an operationally effective, 360-degree AESA radar system will ensure our warfighters can detect – and take action against – complex, modern threats.

“Through our close partnership with the Marine Corps, we have been able to successfully achieve the IOT&E milestone and begin fielding this radar system with unrivaled mission capability to operational units,” said Christine Harbison, vice president, land and avionics C4ISR, Northrop Grumman. “We are proud to deliver hardware enabled, software defined advanced ground radar systems that meet our customer’s mission needs, protect the warfighter in a rapidly changing threat environment, and have significant margin for capability growth.”

To date, eight production systems have been delivered to the Marine Corps. In early 2017, Northrop Grumman delivered six low rate initial production systems. The first Gallium Nitride systems were delivered ahead of schedule in July 2018 and were used for development test (DT) 1E1, DT1E2 and IOT&E.