Radar Modernization

Many of today's military and commercial radar systems were first installed in the 1960s and 1970s. Though maintained and periodically upgraded, the vacuum tube based parts of the systems to suffer from low efficiency, frequent downtime, and high maintenance. A transmitter upgrade using DTI's modern, solid-state technology offers a cost-effective remedy.

The AN/SPQ-9A is a high resolution, narrow beam X-band radar designed for air surveillance and early warning against hostile aircraft and sea-skimming, anti-ship missiles. After nearly thirty years of service, parts obsolescence, decreasing reliability, and increasing maintenance costs, mandated an upgrade to the radar's transmitter. Under contract with the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Port Hueneme Division (PHDNSWC), DTI built sixteen fully MIL-Qualified modulator upgrade kits for on-board installation. DTI's reliable, high power solid-state switches allowed the Navy to replace the transmitter's outdated components and greatly extend the life of the radar system.

An upgrade kit for the Naval Surface Warfare Center's AN/SPG-60 transmitter incorporated DTI's solid-state switch module and switching power supply. The compact 13 kV, 20 A klystron pulsed modulator delivers up to 35 kHz PRF at 0.8 - 8 ms pulse widths. Fifteen radars were retrofitted, each gaining thousands of hours of reliability. Click here to download a PDF file that describes this upgrade in more detail.