Raytheon wraps-up testing of SPY-6 AMDR shipboard missile-defense radar

The U.S. Navy’s AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) completed its final round of developmental testing after tracking its 15th ballistic missile target. During the Jan. 31 test in Hawaii, the SPY-6 shipboard RF and microwave sensor searched, found and tracked a ballistic missile target launched from the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility as part of the radar’s development, according to the Navy. The SPY-6 is an integral component of the Aegis combat weapons system’s latest upgrade, which the Navy expects to achieve initial operational capability in 2023. The Flight III Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers will have the Baseline 10 system. The SPY-6 radar is up to 30 times more sensitive than the older AN/SPY-1D(v) radars, yet requires much more power. The Flight III destroyer will have a new power plant that converts 4,160-volt AC power into 1,000-volt DC power.