US Navy re-starts sense and avoid radar for MQ-4C

The US Navy is launching a competition to provide a new air-to-air radar to help the unmanned Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton detect other aircraft and avoid collisions.

The solicitation posed by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on 3 November comes a year after the Navy canceled development of an Exelis-designed sense and avoid system for the MQ-4C, a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air system modeled on the air force’s RQ-4B Global Hawk.

The new competition is seeking a radar with less ambitious performance requirements. For example, the navy “expects” that the MQ-4C will receive data from ground radar as it approaches an airport, as air-to-air radars can be confused by ground clutter at lower altitudes.

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