SPY-6
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The AN/SPY-6 is an
active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled antenna array in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the a ...
(AESA)
3D radar 3D radar provides for radar ranging and direction in three dimensions. In addition to range, the more common two-dimensional radar provides only azimuth for direction, whereas the 3D radar also provides elevation. Applications include weather rada ...
system developed and built by RTX corporation, formerly Raytheon, and in service with the
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 ...
(USN). It provides integrated
air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
and
missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...
for Flight III s. Variants are under development for retrofitting Flight IIA ''Arleigh Burke''s and for installation aboard s, s, s ( LHA-8 and future), and s. The first delivery of the AN/SPY-6 to the USN took place on 20 July 2020. 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/SPY-6''" designation represents the 6th 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 Surface combatants (or surface ships or surface vessels) are a subset of naval warships which are designed for warfare on the surface of the water, with their own weapons and armed forces. They are generally ships built to fight other ships, subma ...
surveillance 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.


Development

In October 2013, "
Raytheon Company Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major List of United States defense contractors, U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Fou ...
(RTN) asawarded 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 Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...
S-band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the convention ...
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 ...
(AMDR-S) and Radar Suite Controller (RSC)." In September 2010, the Navy awarded technology development contracts to
Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...
,
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
, and
Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...
to develop the S-band radar and radar suite controller (RSC).
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 7.0â ...
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 The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
. 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". , the program is expected to deliver 22 radars at a total cost of almost $6.6B. They will cost $300m/unit in serial production. Testing is planned for 2021 and
Initial operating capability Initial operating capability or initial operational capability (IOC) is the state achieved when a capability is available in its minimum usefully deployable form. The term is often used in government or military procurement. The United States D ...
is planned for March 2023. The Navy was forced to halt the contract in response to a challenge by Lockheed. Lockheed officially withdrew their protest in January 2014, allowing the Navy to lift the stop work order. 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.


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 Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...
discrimination, and missile communications, while the
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 7.0â ...
radar is to provide horizon search, precision tracking, missile communication, and terminal illumination of targets. 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. The ''Arleigh Burke'' deckhouse can only accommodate a version, but the USN claims they need a radar of or more to meet future ballistic missile threats. 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. The transmit-receive modules will use new
gallium nitride Gallium nitride () is a binary III/ V direct bandgap semiconductor commonly used in blue light-emitting diodes since the 1990s. The compound is a very hard material that has a Wurtzite crystal structure. Its wide band gap of 3.4  eV af ...
(GaN) semiconductor technology, allowing for a higher power density than the previous gallium arsenide radar modules. The new radar will require twice the electrical power as the previous generation, while generating over 35 times as much radar power. Although it was not an initial requirement, the SPY-6 may be capable of performing
electronic attack An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
s using its AESA antenna. Airborne AESA radar systems, like the
APG-77 The AN/APG-77 is a multifunction low probability of intercept radar installed on the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft. The radar was designed and initially built by Westinghouse and Texas Instruments, and production continued with their respective ...
,
APG-81 The AN/APG-81 is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire-control radar system designed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (formerly Westinghouse Electronic Systems) for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The AN/APG-81 is a s ...
, and
APG-79 The AN/APG-79 is a type of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that was developed for use on the United States Navy's Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Boeing EA-18G Growler aircraft. The radar's AESA technology provides quick updat ...
used on the
F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was de ...
,
F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...
, and
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twinjet, twin-engine, Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Ho ...
/
EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American aircraft carrier, carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA- ...
, respectively, have demonstrated their capability to conduct electronic attack. All the contenders for the Navy's
Next Generation Jammer The Next Generation Jammer is a program to develop an airborne electronic warfare system, as a replacement for the AN/ALQ-99 found on the EA-18G Growler military aircraft. It reached Initial Operating Capability in 2021. Platforms The AN/ALQ-99 is ...
used
Gallium Nitride Gallium nitride () is a binary III/ V direct bandgap semiconductor commonly used in blue light-emitting diodes since the 1990s. The compound is a very hard material that has a Wurtzite crystal structure. Its wide band gap of 3.4  eV af ...
-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. The radar is 30 times more sensitive and can simultaneously handle over 30 times the targets of the existing
AN/SPY-1 The AN/SPY-1 is a United States Navy passive electronically scanned array (PESA) 3D radar system manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and is a key component of the Aegis Combat System. The system is computer controlled and uses four complementary an ...
D(V), allowing it to counter large and complex
saturation attack A saturation attack or swarm attack is a military tactic in which the attacking side hopes to gain an advantage by swarming and overwhelming the defending side's technological, physical and mental ability to respond effectively. During the Cold W ...
s. Distributed sensing software allows AN/SPY-6 to form a network of
bistatic radar Bistatic radar is a radar system comprising a transmitter and receiver that are separated by a distance comparable to the expected target distance. Conversely, a conventional radar in which the transmitter and receiver are co-located is called ...
s, where forward-deployed sensors work in receive mode, while targets are illuminated by separate transmitters at the back.


Variants

* AN/SPY-6(V)1: Also known as the Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR). It is 4-sided
phased array radar A phaser is an electronic sound processor used to filter a signal by creating a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum. The position of the peaks and troughs of the waveform being affected is typically modulated by an interna ...
, each with 37 RMAs. It is estimated to have a 15 dB sensitivity improvement compared to the previous generation
AN/SPY-1 The AN/SPY-1 is a United States Navy passive electronically scanned array (PESA) 3D radar system manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and is a key component of the Aegis Combat System. The system is computer controlled and uses four complementary an ...
radar, or capable of detecting targets half the size at twice the distance. It is capable of simultaneous defense against
ballistic missiles A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typica ...
,
cruise missiles A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
, air and surface threats, as well as performing electronic warfare. AN/SPY-6(V)1 is planned for the Flight III s. * AN/SPY-6(V)2: Also known as the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR). Rotating and scaled-down version with 9 RMAs estimated to have the same sensitivity as AN/SPY-1D(V) while being significantly smaller. It is capable of simultaneous defense against cruise missiles, air, and surface threats, as well as performing electronic warfare. It is planned for Flight II (previously known as LX(R)), , an , and for retrofitting s. * AN/SPY-6(V)3: A 3-sided phased array fixed version of the EASR, each with 9 RMAs. It has the same capabilities as AN/SPY-6(V)2. Operating in
S-band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the convention ...
, it will serve as a Volume Search Radar complementing the
AN/SPY-3 The AN/SPY-3 is an active electronically scanned array radar manufactured by Raytheon and designed for both blue-water and littoral operations. In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "''AN/SPY-3''" design ...
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 7.0â ...
radar on s, starting with . It is also planned as the primary multi-function radar for s, starting with lead ship . * AN/SPY-6(V)4: A 4-sided phased array, each with 24 RMAs. Similarly to AN/SPY-6(V)1, it is capable of simultaneous defense against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, air and surface threats, as well as performing electronic warfare. It is planned to be retrofitted on Flight IIA ''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyers.Justin Katz
Raytheon to start backfitting destroyers with SPY-6 radar
Breaking Defense. (11 Jan 2022)
* A proposed version with 69 RMAs on each side is estimated to have 25 dB sensitivity improvement over the AN/SPY-1, or capable of detecting targets half the size at almost four times the distance.


See also

*
List of radars A radar is an electronic system used to determine and detect the range of target and maps various types of targets. This is a list of radars. Argentina Australia Brazil Egypt Europe India Military Airborne *LCA MMR - 3D advanced, li ...
*
Phased array In antenna (radio), antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically scanned array, a computer-controlled Antenna array, array of antennas which creates a radio beam, beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point ...
*
Active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled antenna array in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the a ...
*
Active phased array radar Active Phased Array Radar (APAR) is a shipborne active electronically scanned array multifunction 3D radar (MFR) developed and manufactured by Thales Nederland. The radar receiver modules are developed and built in the US by the Sanmina Corp ...
*
AN/SPY-3 The AN/SPY-3 is an active electronically scanned array radar manufactured by Raytheon and designed for both blue-water and littoral operations. In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "''AN/SPY-3''" design ...
* AN/SPY-7 *
EL/M-2248 MF-STAR The EL/M-2248 MF-STAR is a GaN based multifunction active electronically scanned array naval radar system developed by IAI Elta for maritime installation on warships. It is capable of tracking both air and surface targets and providing fire co ...
*
OPS-24 The OPS-24 is a shipborne three-dimensional air search radar adopting active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology. OPS-24 was developed by the Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) of the Ministry of Defence, and manufact ...
*
OPS-50 FCS-3 is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Ministry of Defense (Japan), Japanese Defense Ministry for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. This system is composed of fire-control system, weapon-direction and fire-control subsy ...
*
Selex RAN-40L Selex RAN-40L is a naval 3D L band search radar developed by Leonardo. The radar is used for long range maritime air surveillance and early warning. The radar uses a fully solid state active phased array antenna and capable of tracking&nbs ...
*
Type 346 Radar The Type 346 radar (NATO/Office of the Secretary of Defense, OSD Dragon Eye) is a naval S band active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar developed in the People's Republic of China by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology ...
*
List of military electronics of the United States This article lists American military electronic instruments/systems along with brief descriptions. This list specifically identifies electronic devices which are assigned designations according to the Joint Electronics Type Designation System ...


References


External links


Missile Threat CSIS - Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR)



Northrop Grumman AMDR

Raytheon AMDR
{{United States Missile Defense Naval radars Military radars of the United States Missile defense Military equipment introduced in the 2020s Military electronics of the United States