New mid-band radar, RTX GhostEye MR looks beyond the fighter fleet

RTX is pushing its radar portfolio deeper into ground-based air defense with GhostEye MR, a new mid-range AESA sensor derived from its fighter jet radars and configured for NASAMS launchers and other mobile air defense systems.

Edited by ad hoc news New Releases & Launches Desk. Reviewed before publication on 06/16/2026 at 7:34 AM ET. Details in the imprint.

RTX is extending its ground-based air defense offering with the GhostEye MR, a newly developed medium-range radar that adapts the company’s fighter-grade AESA technology for systems like NASAMS and other mobile launchers. Designed to detect and track cruise missiles, aircraft and smaller threats at longer ranges than current NASAMS sensors, GhostEye MR is pitched as a way to give integrated air and missile defense units earlier warning and more engagement options. RTX highlighted the radar’s successful preliminary design review and its role in future NASAMS configurations in a 2023 program update.

What GhostEye MR is built to do

GhostEye MR sits in the medium-range tier of RTX’s radar family and is intended to extend the defended footprint for ground-based air defenses that today rely on shorter-range sensors such as Raytheon’s MPQ-64 Sentinel. The radar uses an active electronically scanned array based on gallium nitride (GaN) transmitter/receiver modules, a technology RTX has already fielded on the Patriot radar and various fighter radars to improve power efficiency, cooling and detection performance. While the company does not publish exact range figures, marketing material and NATO air defense concepts point to coverage sufficient to cue interceptors like the AMRAAM-ER well before incoming aircraft or cruise missiles reach critical infrastructure.

The system is engineered for 360-degree coverage and high elevation scanning, allowing it to track low-flying cruise missiles, maneuvering aircraft and high-diving ballistic threats in cluttered environments with limited line of sight. RTX stresses that GhostEye MR is designed from the outset to counter so-called “complex raids” in which a mix of manned aircraft, stand-off weapons and drones approaches from multiple directions. In practice that means high track capacity, fast electronic beam steering and integration with fire control systems able to assign multiple interceptors in parallel.

RTX has also emphasized open architecture and networked operation as core design principles. GhostEye MR is being developed to plug into the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) and other modern command-and-control networks, which would allow the radar to share its track data with a wide range of shooters in joint and coalition environments. For operators using NASAMS, that translates into earlier and more precise cueing for AIM-120 AMRAAM and AMRAAM-ER missiles, and the potential to host future effectors such as the AIM-9X or surface-launched ESSM.

From a practical deployment perspective, the radar is designed to be truck-mounted and mobile, with a footprint that fits the typical logistics of air defense batteries deployed to forward bases or protecting fixed assets like airfields and ports. RTX has pointed to the importance of rapid emplacement and tear-down times as customers increasingly expect batteries to “shoot and scoot” to avoid counter-strikes. Power and cooling systems are integrated to support extended operations without extensive site preparation, which is critical for expeditionary forces and nations with dispersed infrastructure.

The company is positioning GhostEye MR as a complement rather than a replacement for existing radar assets. For example, in a layered defense construct, GhostEye MR could provide mid-tier coverage while longer-range sensors such as the LTAMDS radar support Patriot batteries and shorter-range sensors focus on drones and rockets near the defended asset. For countries that already operate NASAMS, the radar is marketed as a future growth path to extend the utility and reach of their existing missile stocks without wholesale replacement of current launchers or command posts. Industry reports note that RTX is targeting both existing NASAMS operators and new NATO members that are building out integrated air defense for the first time. Specialist defense coverage has characterized GhostEye MR as a range and capability upgrade path for NASAMS batteries facing evolving cruise missile threats.

Developmentally, GhostEye MR has cleared key initial design gates, including a successful preliminary design review that confirmed the radar’s architecture, major subsystems and integration approach. RTX has showcased scale models and early hardware at defense exhibitions, signaling that it wants to keep potential customers engaged as the system moves through prototyping and testing. Company communications describe a roadmap that includes live tracking demonstrations and progressive integration with NASAMS fire control elements, although specific contract awards and fielding timelines have not yet been publicly detailed. That staged approach mirrors how RTX has introduced other radar programs, seeding interest before full-rate production.

For RTX’s broader portfolio, GhostEye MR is an attempt to reuse proven components and digital architectures from its Patriot and fighter radar lines to control development risk and cost. The company has invested heavily in GaN fabrication and digital beamforming electronics, and it is now leveraging that industrial base across multiple product lines. That strategy can shorten development cycles and simplify sustainment for customers who already operate RTX radars, because training, spare parts and software tools can carry over from one system to another. Defense analysts have pointed out that this reuse is particularly important as NATO members accelerate air defense spending but still face tight procurement budgets and limited training capacity.

RTX describes GhostEye MR as a response to demand signals from customers worried about the demonstrated effectiveness of cruise missiles and long-range precision weapons in recent conflicts. The radar’s role in detecting low-flying, terrain-hugging threats is central to that demand, since older mechanically scanned radars can struggle to maintain continuous coverage in complex terrain or in the presence of electronic interference. In effect, GhostEye MR is aimed at giving medium-range air defense units sensor capabilities that were until recently associated primarily with high-end strategic systems, but in a footprint and price point compatible with mobile, distributed batteries.

Within RTX, GhostEye MR sits under the Raytheon business, which generates a significant share of the group’s defense segment revenue from sensors and integrated air and missile defense programs worldwide. The radar is expected to deepen RTX’s role in NATO-standard air defense architectures where NASAMS is already in service or under consideration. Shares of RTX Corporation (ISIN US75513E1010) traded on the NYSE at $183.41 on 06/14/2026, according to recent market data. The NYSE’s quote page for RTX provides the latest official pricing and trading information.

GhostEye MR radar in brief: key data points

• Product: GhostEye MR radar
• Manufacturer: RTX Corporation
• Category: New Release/Launch - ground-based air defense radar
• Launch date: Public unveiling and design review milestones announced in 2023
• MSRP / Price: Not publicly disclosed; pricing typically determined via government-to-government or direct military sales contracts
• Availability: Offered to current and prospective NASAMS and integrated air and missile defense operators via defense procurement channels
• Target audience: National defense ministries, air defense forces, and system integrators seeking medium-range radar coverage for integrated air and missile defense
• Key differentiator / USP: Medium-range GaN-based AESA radar derived from fighter and Patriot technology, optimized for NASAMS-class systems with 360-degree coverage and networked integration

This article was a.i.-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without warranty; prices and availability may change at short notice. Not investment advice and not a buy or sell recommendation. Trading involves risk up to and including the total loss of invested capital.