Raytheon AN/TPY-2 Radar Contract Extended to 2028
Raytheon will continue operating and sustaining the U.S. military’s AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar systems through October 2028 under a two-year contract extension that raises the agreement’s maximum value to nearly $3 billion.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded the noncompetitive modification to Raytheon Co., based in Woburn, Massachusetts. The modification increases the ceiling of the existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from $2.605 billion to $2.999 billion, an increase of $394 million.
The extension moves the contract’s ordering deadline from Oct. 31, 2026, to Oct. 31, 2028. The agency will use associated task order modifications to continue funding and managing the work.
The contract ceiling is the maximum value permitted under the agreement, not the amount being awarded immediately. The MDA identified $112.3 million in fiscal 2027 operations and maintenance, research and development, testing and evaluation, and procurement funds for obligation through a task order modification.
Why the AN/TPY-2 radar matters
The AN/TPY-2 is a transportable, high-resolution X-band phased-array radar designed to detect, track and distinguish objects associated with ballistic missile threats.
According to the MDA’s official sensor description, the radar serves two principal roles within the U.S. missile defense architecture.
- Forward-based mode: Detects ballistic missiles early in their flight and supplies tracking information to other elements of the missile defense network.
- Terminal mode: Provides surveillance, tracking, target discrimination and fire-control support for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
These functions make the radar an important part of the sensor network supporting ballistic missile defense. Its data can help missile defense operators establish a track on an incoming threat and provide information needed to support an engagement.
The distinction between the two operating modes is important. In forward-based mode, the radar can contribute information before a threat reaches the terminal engagement phase. In terminal mode, it directly supports THAAD’s task of intercepting ballistic missiles during the final stage of their flight.
The radar does not operate as a stand-alone interceptor. Its effectiveness within the wider defense architecture depends on the availability of communications, command-and-control systems, tracking data and compatible weapon systems.
What the contract extension covers
The modification continues operations and sustainment work rather than announcing a new radar design or a new procurement of complete radar systems.
Raytheon’s responsibilities will include support for existing AN/TPY-2 radar systems at multiple sites in the continental United States and overseas, alongside work performed in Woburn.
The contract uses a combination of cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price line items. These arrangements allow the government to use different payment structures for different parts of the work, depending on the terms of the relevant contract line items.
The MDA also confirmed that related task orders will receive extensions reflecting the increased contract ceiling. The announcement does not identify individual radar sites, specify how much funding will go to each location or provide a detailed breakdown of the work planned for the additional two years.
The agency’s contracting office at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is responsible for the award.
What the nearly $3 billion ceiling means
The revised ceiling is an important procurement figure, but it should not be confused with the immediate financial value of the modification.
Figures from the contract announcement. The ceiling increase and the funds identified for obligation represent different financial measures.
The $394 million increase represents additional capacity under the contract, not necessarily an immediate payment to Raytheon. The $112.3 million in identified fiscal 2027 funding is the amount specified for obligation through a task order modification at the time of the award.
The announcement does not establish how much of the revised ceiling will ultimately be used. Actual spending will depend on task orders, funding decisions and the work authorized under the agreement.
The noncompetitive extension also means the MDA is continuing the existing contractual arrangement rather than selecting a new contractor through a competition for this modification. The announcement identifies the current contract as the result of a sole-source acquisition but does not provide a new explanation of the rationale for extending it without competition.
Sustainment remains central to missile defense readiness
The extension provides continuity for a radar capability that supports both forward missile warning and terminal missile defense. Keeping these systems available requires more than maintaining the radar hardware itself. Sustainment can involve technical support, maintenance, replacement parts and other work needed to keep deployed equipment operational, although the announcement does not itemize the specific tasks funded by this modification.
The MDA has previously described the AN/TPY-2 as part of a wider missile defense sensor architecture that supports the tracking and discrimination of ballistic missile threats. The agency has also documented tests in which AN/TPY-2 tracking information supported engagement planning by another air and missile defense system.
That broader role helps explain why continued radar support matters. A missile defense system depends on a connected sequence of detection, tracking, decision-making and interception. A radar’s contribution is to provide useful information to that sequence, not to guarantee that every incoming missile can be intercepted.
The contract extension also provides the MDA with additional time to continue the existing support arrangement without an immediate transition to a replacement contract. Public information released with the award does not establish whether the agency plans to compete a follow-on sustainment contract before the new October 2028 deadline.
For now, the confirmed change is contractual continuity: Raytheon remains responsible for the specified AN/TPY-2 operations and sustainment work under an agreement with a revised ceiling of $2.999 billion. The announcement does not describe a new radar capability, a change in the system’s technical performance or an expansion in the number of deployed radars.
