AN/SPY-6

AN/SPY-6

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.

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

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^[update], 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]

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]

• AN/SPY-6(V)1: Also known as the Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR).^[21] It is 4-sided phased array radar, each with 37 RMAs. It is estimated to have a 15 dB sensitivity improvement compared to the previous generation AN/SPY-1 radar, or capable of detecting targets half the size at twice the distance.^[22] It is capable of simultaneous defense against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, air and surface threats, as well as performing electronic warfare.^[14] AN/SPY-6(V)1 is planned for the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
• AN/SPY-6(V)2: Also known as the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR).^[23] 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.^[14] It is planned for Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock (previously known as LX(R)),^[24] USS Bougainville (LHA-8), an America-class amphibious assault ship,^[25] and for retrofitting Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.^[26][27]
• 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.^[14] Operating in S-band, it will serve as a Volume Search Radar complementing the AN/SPY-3 X-band radar on Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, starting with USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79).^[25] It is also planned as the primary multi-function radar for Constellation-class frigates,^[28] starting with lead ship USS Constellation (FFG-62).
• 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.^[14][29][30]
• 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.^[31][32]

• Phased array
• Active electronically scanned array
• Active phased array radar
• AN/SPY-3
• AN/SPY-7
• EL/M-2248 MF-STAR
• OPS-24
• OPS-50
• Selex RAN-40L
• Type 346 Radar
• List of military electronics of the United States

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AN/SPY-6.

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