The US Air Force awarded Raytheon Intelligence & Space a contract worth up to $340 million late last month for work on the Mobile Sensors program.
The contract, which covers maintenance up until October 2031, will see the company sustain the Cobra King radar system which helps the air force monitor missile launches and collect data.
The Pentagon uses Cobra King to conduct treaty monitoring and verification activities. Additionally, it can be used to provide data for comparison with other sources during domestic ballistic missile tests.
According to a Pentagon contract announcement, work under the contract will predominantly be performed at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida.
“Raytheon Intelligence & Space helps operate the complex system,” said Bob Williams, vice president of Global Training and Logistics for Raytheon Intelligence & Space. “We provide the support the DoD needs to keep the radars of the Mobile Sensors program operational 24/7/365.”
The US Air Force Technical Applications Center has been operating the Cobra King radar system aboard the USNS Howard O. Lorenzen since 2014. Cobra King replaced the original Cobra Judy system, which had been deployed since 1981.
The mobile radar system consists of S- and X-band phased radars that AFTAC employs to provide worldwide, high quality, high resolution, multi-wavelength radar data to the Department of Defense’s strategic community, the Missile Defense Agency and other government agencies.
The radar and ship are the sea component of the Pentagon’s Cobra program that monitors missile and space launches. Other Cobra platforms include the Cobra Ball (airborne tracker) Cobra Dane (stationary array), Cobra Shoe (overseas antenna site) and AFTAC’s recently decommissioned maritime vessel, Cobra Judy (USNS Observation Island).
