El llamado Q-53 es un radar de matriz en fase de estado sólido que detecta, clasifica, rastrea y determina la ubicación de las armas de fuego indirecto enemigas. El radar Q-53 se despliega en un camión FMTV de 5 toneladas del ejército y puede entrar en combate con fuerzas pesadas, medianas y ligeras. Un segundo camión táctico lleva un refugio de control, un generador de energía de respaldo y dos soldados adicionales para operar el sistema. Lockheed Martin comenzó a desarrollar el radar de contrabaterias Q-53 en 2007 . Este sistema reemplaza a los antiguos radares de medio alcance AN/TPQ-36 y AN/TPQ-37 del USARMY.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – Radar experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. are moving to full-scale production of the company’s AN/TPQ-53 counter-fire radar to detect, classify, track, and pinpoint enemy drones and incoming artillery shells without posing a risk to nearby aircraft and military forces.
Officials of the U.S. Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., announced a $3.3 billion five-year contract last week to the Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems segment in Liverpool, N.Y., for AN/TPQ-53 radar systems for U.S. allies.
The so-called Q-53 is a solid-state phased array radar that detects, classifies, tracks, and determines the location of enemy indirect fire weapons like rockets, artillery shells, and mortars in either 360- or 90-degree modes. This system is replacing the aging U.S. Army AN/TPQ-36 and AN/TPQ-37 medium-range radars.
The contract includes spare parts and services. The AN/TPQ-53 radar is the U.S. Army’s standard forward-deployed system for long-range surveillance and tracking radar against rockets, artillery, and mortar threats for brigade combat teams. Lockheed Martin builds the Q-53 radar in Liverpool and Owego, N.Y.; Moorestown, N.J.; and Clearwater, Fla.
In recent years Lockheed Martin has upgraded the radar system to enhance its reliability against enemy drones and other uncrewed aircraft, and integrate an off-the-shelf identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) subsystem to the radar.
Since its initial construction, Lockheed Martin also has upgraded electronic components in the AN/TPQ-53 to increase its accuracy in high radar clutter, decrease its false location rate, as well as improve its probability of location and probability of correct classification.
The Q-53 radar is deployed on an Army 5-ton FMTV truck, and can go into battle with heavy, medium, and light forces. A second tactical truck carries a control shelter, backup power generator, and two additional soldiers to operate the system. Lockheed Martin started developing the Q-53 counter-fire radar in 2007.
The AN/TPQ-53 is designed to detect the firing points of enemy mortars, artillery shells, and rockets with sufficient accuracy to enable counter-fire artillery to destroy the enemy launcher with one shot.
The Q-53 is deployable as part of the Counter-Rocket Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) system of systems (SoS) to provide a sense and warn capability for deployed U.S. and allied forces. The system is small enough to move aboard C-130 and C-17 aircraft.
