AN/SPY-6

On October 10, 2013, "Raytheon Company (RTN) [was] awarded a $385,742,176 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 $10 billion 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 $6,598m; 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 then was forced to halt the contract in response to a challenge by Lockheed.[9] Lockheed officially withdrew their protest on January 10, 2014[10], allowing the Navy to lift the stop work order.[11]

In 2020 Raytheon completed near-field testing of the AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar array processed through the company’s Radar Development Facility (RDF) in Andover, Massachusetts. The 4.3 m × 4.3 m modular array was intended for the US Navy guided-missile destroyer Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) under construction at the Huntington Ingalls Industries Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The third and fourth AN/SPY-6(V)1 radars, also known as Air and Missile Defense Radars (AMDRs) are in the ranges for testing and calibration.[12]

AN/SPY-6 system overview.

The AMDR 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, as well as missile guidance and communication. AMDR is intended as a scalable system; the Burke deckhouse can only accommodate a 4.3 m (14 ft) version but the USN claim 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 have proposed the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock as the basis for a ballistic missile defense cruiser with 6.1 m (20 ft) AMDR. To cut costs the first twelve AMDR 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 semiconductor technology.[8] This will allow for higher power density than the previous gallium arsenide radar modules.[13] The new radar will require twice the electrical power as the previous generation while generating over 35 times as much radar power.[14]

Although it was not an initial requirement, the AMDR may be capable of performing electronic attacks using its AESA antenna. Airborne AESA radar systems, like the APG-77 used on the F-22 Raptor, and the APG-81 and APG-79 used on the F-35 Lightning II, and F/A-18 Super Hornet/EA-18G Growler respectively, and have demonstrated their capability to conduct electronic attack. The contenders for the Navy's Next Generation Jammer all 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.[15]

The radar is 30 times more sensitive and can simultaneously handle over 30 times the targets of the existing AN/SPY-1D(V) in order to counter large and complex raids.[16]

• AN/SPY-6(V)1: AMDR with 37 RMAs for Flight III Arleigh Burke-class DDG.
• AN/SPY-6(V)2: Otherwise known as the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR)[17]. Rotating and scaled-down version with 9 RMAs for Flight II San Antonio-class LPD.
• AN/SPY-6(V)3: Fixed version EASR for Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier and FFG(X).
• AN/SPY-6(V)4: AMDR with 24 RMAs to be retrofitted to Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class DDG.

• Phased array
• Active electronically scanned array
• Active phased array radar
• AN/SPY-3
• EL/M-2248 MF-STAR
• OPS-24*OPS-50
• Selex RAN-40L
• Type 346 Radar

• Missile Threat CSIS - Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR)
• Lockheed Martin AMDR
• Northrop Grumman AMDR
• Raytheon AMDR