Raytheon Company will build two additional shipsets of SPY-6 radars for U.S. Navy.

Raytheon Company will build two additional shipsets of SPY-6 radars under a $250 million contract with the U.S. Navy. The company is now contracted to deliver a total of nine radar shipsets to DDG-51 Flight III destroyers. The SPY-6 is a family of next-generation, integrated air and missile defense radars that scale to meet the mission requirements of any ship.

Designed for the DDG 51 Flight III destroyers, the SPY-6(V)1 features a 4 array faces – each with 37 RMAs – providing continuous, 360-degree situational awareness.(Picture source Raytheon)

"SPY-6 delivers significantly enhanced range and sensitivity [compared to legacy sensors], and gives geographically dispersed ships the ability to share – and act on – sensor data in ways never before possible," said Scott Spence, senior director of Naval Radar Systems at Raytheon. "This radar gives the Navy unprecedented operational flexibility to defend against ballistic and cruise missiles as well as advanced surface and air threats."

Since its inception in January 2014, the SPY-6 program has met all 20 milestones, ahead of or on schedule. The radar has a track record of performance, demonstrating its multi-mission capabilities against an array of single and multiple, simultaneous targets throughout the Navy's extensive testing program.

Now in production at Raytheon's advanced Radar Development Facility, AN/SPY-6(V) remains on schedule for delivery to the first DDG 51 Flight III, the future USS Jack H Lucas (DDG 125). The first delivery of AN/SPY-6(V)2 to LHA-8, the America Class Amphibious Assault Ship, is on plan for 2021.

The SPY-6 is the U.S. Navy family of radars that perform air and missile defense on seven classes of ships.

The SPY-6 family are integrated, meaning they 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.

The U.S. Navy began procuring Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class destroyers, also known as Aegis destroyers, in FY1985, and a total of 82 have been procured through FY2019. The Navy’s proposed FY2020 budget requests funding for the procurement of three more DDG 51s, which would be the 83rd, 84th, and 85th ships in the class.

The DDG 51-class guided missile destroyers is a warship that provides multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of Carrier Strike Groups, Surface Action Groups, and Expeditionary Strike Groups. 

The DDG 51 Flight III Destroyer is a combatant ship equipped with the:

- AMDR three-dimensional (range, altitude, and azimuth)
multi-function radar
- Aegis Combat System
- AN/SQQ-89 Undersea Warfare suite that includes the
AN/SQS-53 sonar
- MH-60R helicopter
- Close-In Weapon System
- Five-inch diameter gun
- Vertical Launch System that can launch Tomahawk,
Standard Missiles (SM-2, -3, and -6), and Evolved
SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSMs)