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Raytheon CTAS

Type (Muster)
Ground-surveillance aircraft (Gefechtsfeldaufklärungsflugzeug)

Country (Land)
USA

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Raytheon (Space and Airborne Systems)
2000 El Segundo Boulevard
El Segundo, CA 90245-0902
USA

Phone: 001-310/6479068
Fax: 001-310/647-2710

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 2 in the cockpit plus 3 sensor operator positions in the cabin

Sensor: TCAR radar for ground surveillance in a radome below the fuselage. The antenna has a length of about 4,25 metres.

Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x BMW Rolls-Royce BR710A2-10
Thrust (Schub): 2 x 65,6 kN (14750 lbs) flat rated to 20 deg C

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 30,30 m
Height (Höhe): 7,57 m
Span (Spannweite): 28,65 m
Maximum fuselage diameter (Rumpfdurchmesser): 2,68 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 94,94 sq m
Sweep at 25 % chord (Pfeilung): 35 degrees

Cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 14,72 m
Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 2,49 m (half height / in halber Höhe)
Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 1,91 m
Cabin floor area (Kabinenfläche): 31,1 sq m
Cabin volume (Kabinenvolumen): 60,6 cu m including baggage compartment

Weights (Massen)
Max. take-off weigth (Max. Startmasse): about 43500 kg

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Long range cruise speed (Reisegeschwindigkeit auf langen Strecken): M 0.8 / 459 kts (850 km/h) for the business jet variant
Max. operating altitude (Dienstgipfelhöhe): around 13700 m (45000 ft)
Take-off field length (Startstrecke): about 1775 m (sea level, ISA, max. weight)
Landing field length (Landestrecke): 815 m
Range (Reichweite): roughly 9250 km (5000 NM)

Costs (Kosten)
No details known. NATO is proposing a 350 million US-Dollar development phase and has tentatively earmarked 3,15 billion US-Dollars for procurement.

Customers (Kunden)
None yet. NATO is looking for an Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system. This could encompass eight aircraft or a mix of five manned aircraft and seven UAVs plus the ground segment.

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
An EADS/Northrop Grumman team is offering TIPS on the basis of an A321 for the NATO AGS requirement.

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The Raytheon bid for the NATO AGS system is based on the Astor now in development for the UK. It claims that its solution satisfies or exceeds all requirements and will have lower total acquisition and life cycle costs than the competition. Also, the development risks should be lower.
Features of CTAS (Cooperative Transatlantic AGS System) are:

the Bombardier Global Express business jet as the aircraft to carry the radar and three sensor operator consoles as well as satellite and other data links
The TCAR (Transatlantic Cooperative AGS Radar). This 2D radar with an electronically steered array (AESA) will be based on the US MP-RTIP development (Raytheon, Northrop Grumman) as well as the European SOSTAR-X research programme (EADS, Thales, Galileo Avionica, Indra, Dutch Space). It provides near real-time SAR and GMTI imagery and can be scaled for both manned and unmanned platforms.
49 ground stations, of which 30 are mobile and one is for maritime use.
An option to mix fewer Global Express with UAVs. For the latter, Raytheon is still studying types like the General Atomics Predator B and the Northrop Grumman Global Express

To fulfill NATO industrial participation requirements, Raytheon is in the process of assembling a team with companies from many countries. Its main partner so far is BAE Systems. In September 2003 it forged an agreement with Alenia Marconi Systems. An industry briefing was held in the Brussels Hilton on 17 September 2003 to get more companies from other countries on board.

History (Geschichte)
For more than ten years now, NATO is looking for an Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system. The need got new urgency with the November 2002 summit at Prague that stated an IOC date of 2010 and outlined a clear preference for a transatlantic radar development to be used.
After EADS and Northrop Grumman plus their team members were pushing for their TIPS solution for some time, Raytheon entered the scene and officially presented its CTAS (Cooperative Transatlantic AGS System) proposal to NATO in February 2003.
In July 2003, NATO let detailed concept definition study contracts to both contenders. This phase was valued at 1,5 million US-Dollars. Offers from both contenders are due to be submitted on 21 November 2003.
After selection of the preferred system in the spring of 2004 (possibly February), industry hopes to have a contract in place by December 2004 to begin a 350 million US-Dollar design and development phase.
An acquisition programme could be started in 2007, for which NATO has assumed a price of 3,15 billion US-Dollars. This figure is not fixed, however, and Raytheon presumes it could go lower. Money will have to come from NATO countries, but exact shares are yet to be worked out.

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Last updated 17 September 2003

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