U.S. Marine Corps orders 14 more MRADR radar systems

The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded Dynetics a $40.8 million contract modification to build 14 additional Medium Range Air Defense Radar production-representative systems, according to a Department of War contract announcement.

The hybrid other transaction agreement modification also funds depot-level technical manual support, program management, engineering change proposals, logistics support and software support. It further requires Dynetics to retrofit four existing MRADR prototype systems and four Marine Expeditionary Long Range Persistent Sensor, or MELPS, systems. Work will be performed primarily in Huntsville, Alabama, accounting for 87.5% of the effort, with the remainder done in Woodlake, California. The contract is expected to be completed by August 2028.

The Marine Corps funded the award with $2,972,730 in fiscal 2025 procurement funds, $31,295,685 in fiscal 2026 procurement funds and $1,500,000 in fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds, all obligated at the time of award. The Marine Corps procured the modification under 10 U.S. Code 4022 as a follow-on to an earlier prototype agreement. Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Virginia, is managing the contract.

Dynetics, a Leidos company based in Huntsville, has built the MRADR program since 2023. The Marine Corps first awarded the company a $32 million contract that November to develop four MRADR prototype systems over two years, drawing on sensor work Dynetics had previously done on the MELPS program for the Office of Naval Research. In August 2025, the Marine Corps placed a follow-on order worth roughly $24.9 million for six MRADR production-representative model systems. The new $40.8 million modification adds 14 more of those production-representative units to the program.

MRADR is designed to give Marine units a mobile, 360-degree radar capable of detecting, tracking and identifying aerial threats, including cruise missiles and crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The system relies on digitized antennas, receivers and digital signal processing to build a persistent air picture while producing minimal electromagnetic emissions, a design intended to make the radar harder for adversaries to locate and target.

The Marine Corps intends to integrate MRADR with other ground-based air defense systems already in its inventory, including the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar, known as G/ATOR, and the Medium-Range Intercept Capability system. Together, those systems are meant to give Marine expeditionary units layered detection and engagement capability against helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, cruise missiles, rockets and drones.