Malaysia installs Lockheed Martin's long-range radar in Labuan

Malaysia has installed Lockheed Martin's AN/TPS-77 multirole radar (pictured) in Labuan to enhance maritime domain awareness. (Lockheed Martin)

The Malaysian Armed Forces has installed a long-range ground-based radar developed by Lockheed Martin in East Malaysia.

A spokesperson for the Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MoD) told Janes in mid-February that the Malaysian Armed Forces has installed Lockheed Martin's AN/TPS-77 multirole radar in Labuan island, located off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia.

According to Janes C4ISR & Mission Systems: Land, the AN/TPS-77 radar is a mobile variant of Lockheed Martin's AN/FPS-117 L-band 3D solid-state air-defence radar. The AN/TPS-77 radar features low power consumption and can be truck-mounted or transported via C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, truck, rail, or helicopter.

The AN/TPS-77 radar includes active electronically scanned array (AESA) and gallium nitride (GaN) solid-state transmitters. The AN/TPS-77 has a length of 7.62 m, a width of 4.57 m, a range of more than 470 km, an operating frequency of 1,215–1,400 MHz, and a detection altitude of 30,480 m.

In September 2021 the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced that it had awarded a contract worth USD25.1 million to Lockheed Martin to provide “a standalone [ground-based] radar system, ancillary equipment, spares, and training” to Malaysia.

In June 2020 the US government revealed that it will also gift Lockheed Martin's long-range surveillance radars to Indonesia. These radars are very likely to be the AN/TPS-77. A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin declined Janes request for more information on the status of the delivery. Janes data indicates that Australia and South Korea are some of the other countries in the Asia-Pacific using the AN/TPS-77 radar.

The Malaysian MoD spokesperson told Janes