Air Force to terminate Raytheon's 3DELRR contract

By Courtney Albon  / January 8, 2020

The Air Force plans to cancel a contract with Raytheon to develop the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar due to "numerous technical and supplier challenges."

"The Air Force is changing its acquisition strategy for the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) program and will take actions to conclude its current engineering and manufacturing development contract with Raytheon," Air Force spokeswoman Patty Welsh told Inside Defense today.

The service originally chose Raytheon as the 3DELRR prime contractor in 2014, but Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman -- both of whom made failing bids for the project -- protested the award. Then, when the Air Force opted to take corrective action to re-start the bidding process, Raytheon protested the service’s decision. The compounding protests resulted in a nearly three-year program pause that culminated with a new contract to Raytheon in 2017.

The Air Force didn't expand on the nature of the technical challenges Raytheon experienced and didn't immediately provide details on when the contract will be officially terminated, but the Government Accountability Office raised concerns in a 2018 report that a "lack of technical readiness" was delaying the program and highlighted software development risks. The Air Force expected it would cost more than $1.3 billion to develop and produce 35 radar systems.

Raytheon said in a statement to Inside Defense it continues to work with the service to overcome the program's challenges.

"We are aware of the Air Force's position and share their concerns with the challenges facing the 3DELRR program," the company said. "We have been working closely with the Air Force to resolve these issues, and continue to support the U.S. Air Force with their efforts."

The service had previously expected the program to reach initial operational capability in 2023 and full operational capability in 2029. Under the new strategy, Welsh said, the service will use Middle Tier Acquisition authorities to reach IOC for the capability "no later than FY-24."

The program office, based out of Hanscom Air Force Base, MA, will host an industry day Feb. 4, and is asking radar developers to pitch production-ready systems to participate in a forthcoming demonstration. Welsh said the service will release a solicitation soon after the event. The service is referring to the rapid acquisition effort as "SpeedDealer."

"Current market research shows that due to advancements in technology, other alternatives are now available that can deliver the capability faster," Welsh said. "The Air Force believes there is technology that will allow for demonstration of production-ready systems within the next nine months."

3DELRR is meant to replace the Air Force's legacy AN/TPS-75 and serve as its primary ground-based sensor for long-range surveillance, detection and tracking.