Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Members of the Aerial Surveillance Radars Branch began flight testing the first production-ready Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program radars on the RQ-4 Global Hawk in 2011. After delivering MP-RTIP radars for use in similar NATO aircraft in late 2019, the team spent 2020 providing sustainment support to NATO, repurposing spare parts to other branches in the Theater Battle Control Division, and closing out all remaining contracts (Courtesy photo).Global Hawk
                        
                        
                        Members of the Aerial Surveillance Radars Branch at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass, which closed down in December 2020, began flight-testing the first production-ready Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program radars on the RQ-4 Global Hawk in 2011. After delivering MP-RTIP radars for use in similar NATO aircraft in late 2019, the team spent 2020 providing sustainment support to NATO, repurposing spare parts to other branches in the Theater Battle Control Division, and closing out all remaining contracts. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Hanscom AFB branch provides radars to NATO, completes missionPublished Feb. 2, 2021
                    
                    By K. Houston Waters
                    
                    
                    66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
            **HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. (AFNS) --**A team at**Hanscom Air Force Base** recently closed down their branch after providing NATO with an advanced radar capable of delivering high-quality imagery for combat operations.Members of the Aerial Surveillance Radars Branch delivered the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program, or MP-RTIP, radar to the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Management Agency in November 2019.
After supplying NATO with the MP-RTIP radars throughout 2019, the team spent 2020 providing sustainment support to NATO, repurposing spare parts to other branches in the division, and closing out all remaining contracts. With no additional contracts to support, division officials were able to shut down the branch in December 2020.
“After 20-plus years, we have successfully completed our mission,” said Lt. Col. Luis Oquendo Class, Aerial Surveillance Radars branch deputy chief, Complaints Resolution and Operations Division,**Air Force Materiel Command**. “We were created for the purpose of delivering this capability, and I am proud to say we have done that.”In 1999, the Air Force began working on developing a radar capable of collecting synthetic-aperture radar images while tracking moving targets. SARs have the ability to create two and three-dimensional reconstructions of objects and landscapes.
The branch completed flight testing of the first production-ready unit of MP-RTIP in January 2011. In July of that year, the Air Force began testing the radar on the**RQ-4 Global Hawk**, with fielding of the first MP-RTIP radar beginning in 2014.In 2012, the NATO AGS Management Agency began purchasing the AGS NATO RQ-4D, an aircraft based on the Global Hawk. In need of a capable SAR, the organization turned to the Hanscom AFB team.
“When NATO purchased their similar aircraft, they wanted to include our MP-RTIP radar inside that system,” Oquendo Class said. “Throughout 2019, we provided them with several radar systems, so in a way, we have become the eyes and ears for NATO.”
In addition to the SAR images, the MP-RTIP radar includes a number of additional modes that provide measurements of ground length and other critical data to the warfighter.
“The ability for the military to surveil battlespace is an important part of any operation,” said Col. Mike Harm, Theater Battle Control Division senior materiel leader. “This capability is doing an amazing job for warfighters around the world, and this team really deserves a lot of credit for that. I just couldn’t be more proud of the people who have worked so passionately over the years to contribute to this program.”
Following the closure, all branch employees transitioned to new positions in the Digital Directorate, with most remaining in the Theater Battle Control Division.
MP-RTIP software development and sustainment efforts transitioned to the Global Hawk Program Office in September 2018.AFWN 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



AFMC 



Air Force Materiel Command 



Hanscom AFB 



RQ-4 



Global Hawk 



MP-RTIP 



Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program 



NATO Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander emphasizes five focus areas during AFA Warfare Symposium
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil