U.S. Navy Conducts first Maritime test of SPY-6(V)4 Dadar

Raytheon, an RTX business, and the U.S. Navy have successfully conducted the first live maritime test of the AN/SPY-6(V)4 radar.

The test took place at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Barking Sands, Hawaii, where the Advanced Radar Detection Laboratory hosted multiple trials over open water. During the events, the radar tracked air and surface targets in varied conditions, producing the first live data set for the (V)4 configuration.

The company said the results will be used to refine the system ahead of future trials and shipboard deployment.

“The successful live demonstration of the SPY-6(V)4 radar is a major step forward in advancing the capabilities of today’s fleet and supporting allied operations worldwide,” said Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon. “The radar will allow existing U.S. Navy Flight IIA Destroyers to significantly upgrade their detection and tracking capabilities, allowing sailors to more effectively monitor and respond to potential threats in real-time.”

The AN/SPY-6(V)4 is part of the Navy’s broader SPY-6 Family of Radars, which share common hardware and software components to ensure interoperability across multiple platforms. By leveraging modular radar technology, the Navy aims to streamline integration and support scalability across its fleet.

This test represents the first time the (V)4 variant has been evaluated in a maritime environment. Raytheon noted that years of modeling and simulation informed the trials, and the transition to live overwater testing provides critical confirmation of the system’s performance.

The SPY-6(V)4 variant is specifically designed to modernize existing Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA destroyers, providing them with improved sensitivity, expanded coverage, and faster response to multiple threats. The radar’s ability to track both high-speed airborne targets and surface contacts simultaneously is seen as vital for operations in contested maritime regions.

Raytheon and the Navy confirmed that the program will continue with further enhancements and testing, ensuring the system is ready for operational deployment. Over the next decade, SPY-6 radars are expected to be deployed on more than 60 Navy ships, ranging from destroyers to aircraft carriers and amphibious vessels.

For the Navy, SPY-6 is central to its effort to strengthen layered defense against aircraft, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and other emerging threats. Its design builds on decades of radar development while incorporating new digital technologies and adaptive signal processing to improve performance in challenging maritime conditions.

According to RTX, the demonstration in Hawaii highlights the ability of SPY-6(V)4 to deliver actionable data in real time, giving fleet commanders greater confidence in their ability to detect and track threats long before they can pose danger to U.S. or allied ships.

The radar’s modular design also allows for system growth and technology insertion over time. By standardizing the architecture across variants, the Navy reduces logistics and training requirements, while ensuring that upgrades can be applied fleet-wide as new threats emerge.