After a series of previous successes, Raytheon's AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) successfully searched, acquired, and tracked a ballistic missile during the first dedicated ballistic missile defense exercise at the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), the company announced March 31.
Tad Dickenson, Raytheon's director of the AMDR program, indicated that "all systems were green" and the successes seen at the PMRF are "significant achievements and a testament to the expertise and commitment of this government and Raytheon team."
The AN/SPY-6 remains on track for delivery to DDG 51 Flight III. After completing several milestones throughout the radar's advancement, it will transition to low-rate initial production. The AN/SPY-6(V) is the first scalable radar built with radar modular assemblies, also known as radar building blocks, which are standalone radars that can be grouped together to build a radar of any size. Because of this, the radar is capable of increasing battlespace, situational awareness, and reaction time thanks to the greater capacity in range, sensitivity, and discrimination accuracy.
The AMDR will replace SPY-1D radars on new Aegis warships.The scalable sensor – meant to scale up for larger warships with more installed power and down for smaller vessels – is key to the Aegis system's ability to track and defeat enemy air and ballistic missile targets.
Rachael Kalinyak is an editorial intern with Network Solutions.
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