AN/SPY-6

Last updated
AN/SPY-6
DDG 124 with AMDR highlighted.png
Artist rendering of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer with AN/SPY-6 highlighted
Country of origin United States
Type Air and missile defense active electronically scanned array 3D radar
Frequency S band
Azimuth 0–360°
Elevation Horizon–zenith
Other Names
  • Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR)
  • Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR)

The AN/SPY-6 is an active electronically scanned array [1] 3D radar under development for the United States Navy (USN). [2] It will provide integrated air and missile defense for Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. [3] Variants are under development for retrofitting Flight IIA Arleigh Burkes and for installation aboard Constellation-class frigates, Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, America-class amphibious assault ships (LHA-8 and future), and San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks.

Contents

The first delivery of the AN/SPY-6 to the USN took place on 20 July 2020. [4]

Development

AN/SPY-6 system overview. AMDR-System-Overview-1.jpg
AN/SPY-6 system overview.

In October 2013, "Raytheon Company (RTN) [was] awarded an almost $386m cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase design, development, integration, test, and delivery of Air and Missile Defense S-band Radar (AMDR-S) and Radar Suite Controller (RSC)." [5] In September 2010, the Navy awarded technology development contracts to Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon to develop the S-band radar and radar suite controller (RSC). X-band radar development reportedly will come under separate contracts. The Navy hopes to place AMDR on Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, possibly beginning in 2016. Those ships currently mount the Aegis Combat System, produced by Lockheed Martin. [6]

In 2013, the Navy cut almost $10B from the cost of the program by adopting a smaller less capable system that will be challenged by "future threats". [7] As of 2013, the program is expected to deliver 22 radars at a total cost of almost $6.6B. They will cost $300m/unit in serial production. [8] Testing is planned for 2021 and Initial operating capability is planned for March 2023. [8]

The Navy was forced to halt the contract in response to a challenge by Lockheed. [9] Lockheed officially withdrew their protest in January 2014, [10] allowing the Navy to lift the stop work order. [11]

In March 2022, Raytheon announced a $3.2B contract to outfit every new surface ship in the US Navy with the SPY-6 family of radars. [12] [13]

Technology

The SPY-6 system consists of two primary radars and a radar suite controller (RSC) to coordinate the sensors. An S-band radar is to provide volume search, tracking, ballistic missile defense discrimination, and missile communications, while the X-band radar is to provide horizon search, precision tracking, missile communication, and terminal illumination of targets. [6] The S-band and X-band sensors will also share functionality, including radar navigation, periscope detection, and missile guidance and communication. SPY-6 is intended as a scalable system, with each sensor array assembled from Radar Modular Assemblies (RMA), self-contained radar modules. [14]

The Arleigh Burke deckhouse can only accommodate a 4.3 m (14 ft) version, but the USN claims they need a radar of 6.1 m (20 ft) or more to meet future ballistic missile threats. [8] This would require a new ship design. Ingalls has proposed the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock as the basis for a ballistic missile defense cruiser with 6.1 m (20 ft) SPY-6. To cut costs, the first 12 SPY-6 sets will have an X-band component based on the existing SPQ-9B rotating radar, to be replaced by a new X-band radar in set 13 that will be more capable against future threats. [8]

The transmit-receive modules will use new gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology, [8] allowing for a higher power density than the previous gallium arsenide radar modules. [15] The new radar will require twice the electrical power as the previous generation, while generating over 35 times as much radar power. [16]

Although it was not an initial requirement, the SPY-6 may be capable of performing electronic attacks using its AESA antenna. Airborne AESA radar systems, like the APG-77, APG-81, and APG-79 used on the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet/EA-18G Growler, respectively, have demonstrated their capability to conduct electronic attack. All the contenders for the Navy's Next Generation Jammer used Gallium Nitride-based (GaN) transmit-receiver modules for their EW systems, which enables the possibility that the high-power GaN-based AESA radar used on Flight III ships can perform the mission. Precise beam steering could attack air and surface threats with tightly directed beams of high-powered radio waves to electronically blind aircraft, ships, and missiles. [17]

The radar is 30 times more sensitive and can simultaneously handle over 30 times the targets of the existing AN/SPY-1D(V), allowing it to counter large and complex saturation attacks. [18]

Distributed sensing software allows AN/SPY-6 to form a network of bistatic radars, where forward-deployed sensors work in receive mode, while targets are illuminated by separate transmitters at the back. [19] [20]

Variants

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "The US Navy -- Fact File: Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR)". Archived from the original on 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  2. ↑ "AMDR Competition: The USA's Next Dual-Band Radar". Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  3. ↑ "Exhibit R-2A, RDT&E Project Justification: PB 2011 Navy" (PDF). 2010-03-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  4. ↑ "US Navy takes delivery of new, more powerful radar". Defense News. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "Raytheon awarded US Navy next generation Air and Missile Defense Radar contract - Yahoo Finance". Archived from the original on 2013-10-18. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  6. 1 2 "New Radar Development Continues for U.S. Navy". Defense News. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  7. ↑ ""NavWeek: Radar Shove."". Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "GAO-13-294SP DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs" (PDF). US Government Accountability Office. March 2013. pp. 117–8. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Shalal-Esa, Andrea (23 October 2013). "U.S. Navy orders Raytheon to halt radar work after protest". www.reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  10. ↑ McCarthy, Mike (10 January 2014). "Lockheed Martin Drops Protest On Award Of Navy's New Shipboard Radar". Defense Daily. Defense Daily Network. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  11. ↑ LaGrone, Sam (13 January 2014). "Lockheed Martin Drops Protest over Next Generation Destroyer Radar". news.usni.org. US Naval Institute News. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  12. ↑ "Raytheon Missiles & Defense wins $651 million SPY-6 radar contract". Raytheon Missiles & Defense. 31 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Raytheon Missiles & Defense awarded $651 million to produce SPY-6 radars for next-gen US Navy ships". Raytheon Technologies. 31 March 2022. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "U.S. Navy's SPY-6 Family of Radars". Raytheon Missiles & Defense. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  15. ↑ "The Heart of the Navy's Next Destroyer". July 30, 2013.
  16. ↑ Filipoff, Dmitry (4 May 2016). "CIMSEC Interviews Captain Mark Vandroff, Program Manager DDG-51, Part 1". cimsec.org. CIMSEC. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  17. ↑ Navy’s Next Generation Radar Could Have Future Electronic Attack Abilities - News.USNI.org, 17 January 2014
  18. ↑ Eshel, Tamir (May 12, 2015). "Raytheon's next generation naval radar passes milestone".
  19. ↑ "Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Office of Naval Research test new distributed sensing software for SPY-6". Raytheon Missiles & Defense. 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "Q&A on Distributed Maritime Operations". Raytheon Missiles & Defense. 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR)". www.navy.mil. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  22. ↑ "Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) / AN/SPY-6". Missile Threat. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  23. ↑ "SAS 2019 Day 2 - SPY-6, NSM for USMC, PGK, Freedom LCS & FFG(X), Navantia". YouTube. 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  24. ↑ "Navy C4ISR and Unmanned Systems". Sea Power 2016 Almanac. Navy League of the U.S. January 2016. p. 91. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. 1 2 "Raytheon Awarded $92M Navy Contract for Future Carrier Radars". USNI News. August 22, 2016.
  26. ↑ Tyler Rogoway. Behold The Navy’s New Radar For Nimitz Class Carriers And Amphibious Assault Ships. The War Zone (Aug 21, 2019)
  27. ↑ "Raytheon Missiles & Defense, US Navy complete testing on Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar". Raytheon Missiles & Defense. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022.
  28. ↑ Vavasseur, Xavier, ed. (18 January 2018). "SNA 2018: Contenders for the U.S. Navy FFG(X) Frigate Program". Navy Recognition. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  29. ↑ David B. Larter. With an eye to China and Russia, the US Navy plans a lethal upgrade to its destroyers. DefenseNews (Mar 21, 2019)
  30. ↑ Justin Katz. Raytheon to start backfitting destroyers with SPY-6 radar. Breaking Defense. (11 Jan 2022)
  31. ↑ "The Air and Missile Defense Radar (AN/SPY-6(V))" (PDF). Raytheon. pp. 7, 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  32. ↑ "Environmental Assessment for Installation and Operation of Air and Missile Defense Radar AN / SPY-6" (PDF). Surface Combat Systems Center. p. 1-5. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
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