Singapore has acquired new weapon-locating radar
systems manufactured by defence and security company Lockheed
Martin.
Jane's Defence Weekly reported on Thursday that the
contract was signed on April 13 and work on the AN/TPQ-53 radar
systems is estimated to be completed by March 2019.
The United States Defence Security Cooperation Agency
said that Singapore had requested a sale of six AN/TPQ-53 radar
systems back in 2013. The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) confirmed
the acquisition but did not comment on the number of radar systems
acquired or the request for sale when asked by The Straits
Times.
Jane's Defence Weekly also reported that the value of
the order was US$81 million (S$110 million).
The AN/TPQ-53 radar system can detect, classify and
determine the point of origin and the point of impact of incoming
mortars, artillery and rockets. It can also be deployed within five
minutes and taken down within two minutes.
The weapon-locating radar can be used to improve the
accuracy of Singapore's artillery firing, Colonel Lim Wei Lian,
chief systems integration officer at Mindef, told ST.
On its website, Lockheed Martin describes the radar
system as featuring "enhanced performance, including greater
mobility, increased reliability and supportability, lower
life-cycle cost and reduced crew size".
Lockheed
Martin was previously awarded a US$1.6 billion order-dependent
contract for additional AN/TPQ-53 systems by the US Army in April.
The US Army now has over 170 such systems. They have also been
acquired by Saudi Arabia.
In a statement
on April 24, director of Lockheed Martin's AN/TPQ-53 programme Rick
Herodes said: "The Q-53 system helps troops know what is going on
around them in an increasingly complicated world."
Mindef told ST
that the new radar system will replace the existing TPQ-36 and
TPQ-37 radar systems. They also detect incoming artillery and
rocket fire.
Col Lim said:
"The acquisition of the AN/TPQ-53 weapon-locating radar is part of
the Singapore Army's ongoing modernisation efforts. The new radar
systems will be operated by the Singapore Artillery and will
enhance the protection for our forces through better detection of
hostile rocket, artillery and mortar firings."
Mindef's last
acquisition was in May, when it signed a contract with ThyssenKrupp
Marine Systems for two Type 218SG submarines in addition to the two
it had previously procured in 2013, which are projected for
delivery from 2021.