"AN/" originally indicated Army/Navy (Marines), but is now used to indicate the JETDS system.[1]
"T" for 'transportable', indicating it is carried by a vehicle but is not an integral part of said vehicle (compare with 'V' for vehicle-mounted).
"P" indicating a radar.
"Q" for a special-purpose/multipurpose radar, in this case counter-battery.
"53" is the model number of this radar within the TPQ radar family.
History
The TPQ-53 radar's delivery on 2 July 2009 followed its successful live-fire performance testing against indirect fire from mortars, artillery and rockets from a simulated enemy. The system has been tested and approved by the US Army.
TPQ-53 radar systems will replace the aging TPQ-36 and TPQ-37 medium-range radars now in the Army's inventory. In addition to its counter-fire and counter-drone missions,[2]
Prior to September 2011 This system was known as EQ-36 Counterfire Target Acquisition Radar.[3]
The AN/TPQ-53 is the most advanced counter-fire radar of the US Army, with a detection range of 38 miles / 60 km, operating in the S-band range for enhanced accuracy.[4]
In June 2013 the United States Army exercised a contract option to finish out the total production of 51 systems.[5] After a contract award 24 April 2017 has completed production, the Army will hold more than 170 such systems.[6] In April 2020 the first GaN based AN/TPQ-53 was delivered to the U.S. Army[7]
After Russian-backed separatists started operating tanks in Eastern Ukraine, the U.S. started sending military items to Ukraine, including 20 AN/TPQ-53 radar systems in 2015. As a result, Ukraine's units thus equipped had casualty rates decline from 47 percent to around 18 percent. Ukrainian combat expertise with the system led to their providing training to U.S. forces.[8]
