Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S) has received a $146 million, five-year contract from the U.S. Navy to support, operate and maintain a long-range surveillance network based on the Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar (ROTHR) system.

The contract covers operations and maintenance at six ROTHR locations in Puerto Rico, Texas and Virginia. Each radar provides more than 6.5 million square kilometers of coverage.

“Raytheon Technologies’ ROTHR systems have supported U.S. Navy operations for over 30 years,” said John DeSimone, vice president of cybersecurity, training and services for RI&S.

Originally developed to track long-range targets for aircraft and ships, ROTHR is now the primary detection system for border security and drug smuggling interdiction for the Joint Interagency Task Force South.

In 2020 alone, Raytheon noted in a 24 March announcement, ROTHR contributed to the seizure of 26 tons of cocaine from drug smugglers attempting to enter the U.S.