 |
| Patriot PAC-3 missile launcher (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
A little-known material has the potential to revolutionize weapons technology.
Writing for Breaking Defense, Sydney J. Freedberg, pointed out an underreported recent change in Washington’s arms export policy. Last week, the U.S. government authorized American defense contractor Raytheon to export a radar upgrade of its Patriot missile defense system to 22 countries. This new upgrade for the Patriot’s land-based radar contains a little-known material called gallium nitride (GaN), which according to Raytheon’s Vice President of Research and Development, John C. Zolper, is a, “wide band gap semiconductor material with special properties that are ideal for applications in optoelectronics, and high-power, high-frequency amplifiers.”
Breaking Defense quotes defense consultant Loren Thompson, who underlines the importance of GaN: “The gallium nitride story is an under-reported and really revolutionary development. People are saying it’s the biggest invention in semi-conductors since silicon.”
The specific upgrades are two extra panels that give the radar increased range and a 360-degree field of view for little extra cost. Gallium nitride can carry higher voltages than other semiconductor materials, meaning higher efficiency, which in turn means less power is required for the operation of the radar. This, according to Patriot upgrade program director Norm Cantin, makes the radar system more reliable and cheaper to maintain in the long-run.
Read the full story at The Diplomat