Airbus Defense and Space Continues TRS-4D AESA Radar Supply for Littoral Combat Ship

Freedom-variant LCS prime contractor, Lockheed Martin has contracted Airbus Defense and Space and its affiliate, Airbus DS Electronics and Border Security GmbH, to supply TRS-4D naval radars for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme.

 

The TRS-4D is already planned for installation aboard LCS 17 and LCS 19 and the radar planned to go aboard LCS 21 recently completed its factory acceptance test. 

 

“The TRS-4D radar, with the superior performance of AESA technology, supports the LCS evolution to a frigate, meets current and future threats, and can readily be adapted to change over the service life of the ship,” said Mike Cosentino, President of Airbus Defense and Space.  

 

The fixed panel TRS-4D radar will be fitted aboard the German F-125 class frigates and it is the rotating version of the TRS-4D radar that is being fitted on the LCS. Airbus Defense and Space radars have been aboard LCS since the program’s inception.

 

Freedom Variant LCS’ from LCS 1 through LCS 15 were fitted with the TRS-4D’s predecessor, the AN/SPS-75 radar. 

 

An excellent match for the environment faced by LCS and its evolution to a frigate, the software-defined radar is programmable, enabling the customer to define changes to radar characteristics to match future threats that evolve over the life of the ship. 

 

The TRS-4D is a three-dimensional, multi-mode AESA naval radar for surveillance, target acquisition, self-defence, gunfire support, and aircraft control.

 

It automatically detects and tracks all types of air and sea targets, alleviating crew workload requirements.