The capability that aided Lockheed Martin Australia’s formation outside of the United States, the Tactical Air Defence Radar System (TADRS), has reached 20 years of sustainment.
This sustainment has been in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). TADRS is a TPS-77-based system which aids Australia’s ground-based air and missile defence.
In 2006, leadership of the TADRS was passed from Lockheed Martin in the United States to Lockheed Martin Australia.
“We have built a highly responsive and technically proficient team at Williamtown that has consistently adapted to the evolving needs of the ADF,” Lockheed Martin Australia, Rotary and Mission Systems, Director International Strategy & Business Development, Phil Gordon, highlighted.
“The lessons learned from sustaining the legacy TADRS will be carried forward into the air battle management enterprise, ensuring a seamless transition to future air defence platforms and a stronger, more integrated defence capability for Australia.”
During its use, the system has delivered more than 150,000 hours of operational service, partaking in multiple military exercises and has even been setup in other countries, such as Papua New Guinea (PNG) for Operation APEC Assist 2018.
Throughout these exercises, issues of mobility have arisen. Lockheed Martin has responded to these problems through adapting the setup of the system. The military operation in Port Moresby aided in highlighting these.
“That was the trigger that led us down the path, basically, and the focus, particularly with that operation, was in the planning, where the Commonwealth identified they wanted more mobility in the system. They wanted to reduce the logistics burden, and particularly for that out-of-country operation, was focused on C-17 movement, so that's what initiated that particular change and improvement that we made,” Lockheed Martin, Engineering Project Manager on the TADRS program, James Lees, stated.
Over time, the system has been upgraded to evolve with the requirements of the rapidly changing world. As part of this, Lockheed Martin delivered five new command and control systems to support the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) ground-based battle management during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. The upgrades also included integrating the TADRS with integrated voice-communication technology for international deployments.
“Everything that they've been learning over the last 20 years sustaining this radar is helping us get to where we are now, but also going into the future,” Lockheed Martin Australia Program Manager, Nicholas Wells, indicated.
The capability has enabled the ADF to detect, track and counter airborne threats.
As part of the sustainment efforts, Lockheed Martin has worked with over 170 regional suppliers and made key partnerships with Varley, Daronmont Technologies, R&R Murphy, AFL Telecom and Rojone.
These collaborative efforts have driven continuous technology improvements, hardware and software development, and advanced systems integration.
In 2021, Lockheed Martin partnered with Varley for TADRS 2.0 portable processing cabins and a Next Generation Deployable Facility (NGDF) portable cabin concept demonstrator, with cabin fabrication led by Varley.
Over the years, the physical aspects of the TADRS have been altered and re-designed to reduce operational footprint, improve safety, increase mobility and accelerate rapid deployment. This has aligned with the ADF’s priorities of field agility for layered air and missile defences.
The primary change that Lockheed Martin undertook was rationalising the cabins to drastically reduce the capability’s footprint. Another change undertaken was a software refresh to create a cyber compliant design, providing a further networked architecture with the rest of the air battle management. The radio infrastructure as a result became any radio anywhere.
“Integrated air and missile defence, which is an extension of air battle management, is really about being the conductor of the orchestra that takes a bunch of gifted musicians and makes them play in harmony to produce something great. That's the role the TADRS provided for the ADF in 2018 and that's the role that the joint air battle management system will play for the ADF moving forward. It's really about making the whole greater than the sum of the parts,” Gordon emphasised.
The TADRS are deployed where they are required, including at RAAF Base Williamtown.
“I commend the Royal Australian Air Force and industry on this remarkable milestone. It is a testament to the enduring partnership between the ADF and our industry partners,” Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand, Jeremy King, said.
“TADRS has been a mainstay of Australia's security operations. For 20 years, the joint team has proudly sustained the ‘eyes’ of Australia’s ground-based air defence, working together to deliver the capabilities Australia needs to respond to advancing air and missile threats.”