Raytheon Company will support and sustain the sensor and processor for the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System 2-A under a $217M U.S. Air Force IDIQ. Work will be performed through 2024.

U-2 Dragon Lady (Picture source: US Air Force)

ASARS-2A provides the U-2 aircraft with long-range, high-resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities over large areas, from as high as 70,000 feet above Earth.

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is an American single-jet engine, ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the CIA. It provides day and night, high-altitude (70,000 feet; 21,000 m), all-weather intelligence gathering. U-2s have taken part in post-Cold War conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and supported several multinational NATO operations. The U-2 has also been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, scientific research, and communications purposes.

"With ASARS-2A, the Air Force can detect ground targets day or night, no matter the weather condition," said Chad Pillsbury, director at Raytheon Secure Sensor Solutions. "And, it's reliable. The Air Force just completed ASARS-2A's 9,000th tactical mission in Korea this year."

The ASARS-2A sensor locates moving and stationary targets using its ground moving-target indicator and search and spot modes. Its on-board processing system delivers near-real time, precise target location data. This allows decision makers to respond quickly, rather than relying on ground stations to process the targeting data.

Under another contract with the US Air Force, Raytheon is also working on a ASARS-2B.