AN/SPQ-9A (sometimes pronounced as "spook nine") is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

multi-purpose surface search and fire control

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

used with the Mk-86 gun fire-control system (MK86 GFCS). It is a two dimensional surface-search radar, meaning it provides only range and bearing but not

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

. It is intended primarily to detect and track targets at sea level, on the surface of the water for either gun fire engagement or navigation. It can however, also detect and track low

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

(below 2000 ft) air targets. In accordance with the

Joint Electronics Type Designation System The Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System (AN System. JAN) and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Depa ...

(JETDS), the "''AN/SPQ-9''" designation represents the 9th design of an Army-Navy

electronic device Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other electrically charged particles. It is a subfield of physics and ...

for surface ship special radar system. The JETDS system also now is used to name all

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

electronic systems.

Service

Initially tested on the , it was also deployed on s, s, s, s, s, s, s, and National Security Cutters of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

. It was fitted to the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

's s as part of the Type 103B upgrade in the 1980s.

SPQ-9B

The SPQ-9A on ''Ticonderoga''-class cruisers and the SPS-67 on ''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyers are being replaced by the SPQ-9B. It provides twice the range compared to the SPQ-9A and improved range resolution. This replacement is being done as a part of the United States Navy's cruiser modernization and destroyer modernization programs to extend the life of the existing ships. The new SPQ-9B will be a part of the Mk 160 Mod 11 Gun Computer System of the Mk 34 Gun Weapon System. The first operational evaluation of the SPQ-9B was on in October 2002. It is to be installed on CVN-68, LPD-17, CG-47, WMSL-750, LHD-1, and LHA-6 ship classes. The system is

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequency, frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0� ...

and the antenna consists of dual planar arrays mounted back-to-back under a radome. Flight III ''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyers are also planned to have the SPQ-9B.

Gallery

Image:USS Norton Sound (AVM-1) leaves the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for gunnery trials, circa in 1969 (6454886).jpg, ''Norton Sound'' during Mk-86 testing, carrying AN/SPQ-9. File:AN SPQ-9B radar on board mast of JS Atago(DDG-177) left front view at JMSDF Maizuru Naval Base April 13, 2019.jpg, AN/SPQ-9B radar on board mast of left front view at JMSDF Maizuru Naval Base, 13 April 2019.

References

External links

NAVAIR warfighters encyclopedia, AN/SPQ-9A

* ttp://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/systems/an-spq-9.htm GlobalSecurity.org AN/SPQ-9 Radar Sea radars Military radars of the United States Northrop Grumman radars Military electronics of the United States {{US-navy-stub

Service

SPQ-9B

Gallery

See also

References

External links