On Thursday, January 29, 2026, the U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, signed a contract worth 1,025,100,000 USD with Raytheon (a subsidiary of RTX Corporation) for two-year support of the full-rate production of LTAMDS (Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor) medium-range radars.
Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
The work will be carried out at Raytheon’s main facilities in Andover, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2030. At the time the contract was awarded, funds totaling USD 254,571,432 were obligated under other public procurement actions for fiscal year 2026 within the NDAA defense budget.
This is the third contract related to the serial production of radars ordered by the U.S. Army as well as the Polish Ministry of National Defense. Under previous contracts, funding was included for 12 radars for Poland as part of Phase II of the Wisła air and missile defense program.
The first production contract was signed on July 31, 2024, and was valued at 2,089,200,000 USD, although it effectively began on April 21, 2025. RTX received U.S. Department of Defense approval for so-called Milestone C, allowing the transition from the Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase to Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP). The second production contract was signed on August 28, 2025, and was valued at 1,700,000,000 USD, increasing total expenditures to 3,789,400,000 USD. Naturally, these amounts also include orders for the U.S. Army.
As mentioned, Poland decided to procure 12 LTAMDS radars for six additional batteries of the IBCS/Patriot system. Under the offset agreement, Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa will obtain industrial capabilities to service and produce certain components of these radars. An element of this offset is the future Military Electronics Center (CEM), to be built at the Research and Development Center of the Maritime Technology Center (OBR CTM) in Gdynia.
On September 3, 2025, Wojskowe Zakłady Elektroniczne (WZE) signed a contract with Raytheon for the production of Energy Storage Assembly (ESA) modules for LTAMDS radars. In turn, on November 4, 2025, PIT-Radwar signed a contract for the delivery of 36 identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) system antennas for radars intended for Poland.
LTAMDS is a stationary, three-sided radar providing 360-degree coverage and employing active electronically scanned array (AESA) antennas based on gallium nitride (GaN) technology. Thanks to these features, it enables significantly more effective protection against a wide range of threats—from manned and unmanned aircraft to cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles. It is the successor to the sector-based AN/MPQ-65 fire control radars used in Patriot system batteries. Compared to the AN/MPQ-65 radar, the antenna of the new system is 2,130 mm longer and 280 mm narrower. It does not require side stabilizers, which means it takes up less space in the cargo hold of a C-17A Globemaster III aircraft.
In addition to six prototypes, the U.S. Army planned to order 16 sets, and by 2031 at least 60 radar stations are to be delivered to all 15 Patriot battalions. Recently, however, information has emerged about the possibility of increasing their number by 25% to 19 battalions, which would entail an increase in the number of radars. Beyond the U.S. Army and Poland, there is interest in LTAMDS radars from other countries as well (RTX has mentioned several dozen potential customers).
