Contract includes the first Flight IIA destroyers to be modernized with an upgraded radar
TUCSON, Ariz., (March 30, 2023) — Raytheon Technologies was awarded a $619 million contract to continue to produce AN/SPY-6(V) radars for the U.S. Navy. This is the second option exercised from the March 2022 hardware, production and sustainment contract that is valued up to $3.16 billion over five years.
“SPY-6 is the most advanced naval radar in the world providing unprecedented integrated air and missile defense capabilities,” said Kim Ernzen, president of Naval Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “Integration into the U.S. fleet is well underway with SPY-6 operating on the Navy's first, new Flight III destroyer. This contract enables the radar to be added to more ships including the first of existing Flight IIA destroyers that will be modernized.”
The SPY-6 family of radars can defend against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hostile aircraft and surface ships simultaneously. They provide several advantages over legacy radars, including significantly greater detection range, increased sensitivity and more accurate discrimination. Their scalable and modular radar arrays reduce cost and sustainment needs, while meeting the mission requirements of seven classes of ships.
The SPY-6 radar is significantly more sensitive than the 40-year-old predecessor it’s replacing. Its enhanced detection capability and more accurate discrimination allow sailors to find and track enemy missiles and fighter jets simultaneously, faster and at greater distances.
"SPY-6 is a paradigm shift in radar technology, providing sailors with improved situational awareness, enhanced ballistic missile defense, reduced maintenance and downtime, and increased range,” said Mike Mills, senior program director of Naval Radars at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “It's designed to keep sailors safe and missions successful.”
The SPY-6 radar is made of many smaller radars called Radar Modular Assemblies – 2x2x2 boxes that can be arranged to fit on any ship and function for any mission. It can include as few as four RMAs or as many as 57, meaning it can go on smaller ships such as frigates and unmanned vessels, as well as larger ships such as the next-generation destroyers.
“We have decades of experience as a mission and systems integrator of defense solutions, so we are ready to meet a variety of size needs and missions for the U.S. and its allies,” Mills said. “Scalability cuts production costs because we aren’t developing something new for every ship or variant.”