 Raytheon
AN/SPY-6(V) integrated Air and Missile Defense Radar
(AMDR) fitted on a US Navy's Flight III DDG
51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer scale model at SAS 2015 |
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We
asked Tad Dickenson, AMDR Program Manager at Raytheon (whom
we interviewed on video at Sea Air Space 2014) about the challenges
to integrate this new radar on the DDG 51 Flight III destroyers given
hull space and power limits. He explained to us that with the Gallium
Nitride (GaN) technology Raytheon could use fewer Radar Modular Assembly
(RMA) therefore AMDR fits in. Thanks to the pilot array built at Raytheon's
Near Field Range in Sudbury, Massachusetts, Raytheon knows how much each
element weighs. Another contributing factor (to the reduced weight and
energy requirement) is the fact AMDR started from a clean sheet. Tad Dickenson
concluded with "We are right on mark for weight and we have power
and cooling margins". We also asked him about potential future export sales and integration of AMDR with foreign hulls and foreign combat management systems. The AMDR Program Manager started by explaining that "AMDR will be qualified in 2017 with an IOC (ed. note: Initial operational capability) scheduled for 2023". He then explained that Raytheon is waiting for US Navy policy before briefing a select number of allies. No country were specifically mentioned but Navy Recognition believes that Japan and South Korea are the most likely candidate as these two countries destroyer classes based on the US Navy DDG 51 (the Atago class, Kongo class and the KDX-III) with the existing SPY-1 radar. Tad Dickenson stressed the fact that AMDR's modularity allows it to be easily fitted on a large variety of ship designs from corvette to destroyers. He also explained that AMDR is a "plug and play" radar that may be integrated easily with non US combat management systems. We asked about Thales famous TACTICOS and he confirmed this CMS would not pose a problem. |
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Raytheon
released a new AMDR video during Sea Air Space 2015 |
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During
Sea Air Space 2015, Raytheon announced that AMDR passed a number of
key
milestones. SPY-6(V) is the next-generation integrated air and
ballistic missile defense radar for the U.S. Navy, filling a critical
capability gap for the surface fleet. It is the first truly scalable radar,
built with radar building blocks (Radar Modular Assemblies) that can be
grouped to form any size radar aperture, either smaller or larger than
currently fielded radars. All cooling, power, command logic and software
are scalable. This scalability could allow for new instantiations, such
as back-fit on existing DDG 51 destroyers and installation on aircraft
carriers, amphibious warfare ships, frigates, or the DDG 1000 class, without
significant radar development costs. Leveraging GaN technology to optimize power in a smaller size and using less space, power and cooling than older technology would require for the same performance, AMDR is a key enabler for the capability and performance enhancements of the new DDG 51 Flight III ship. SPY-6(V) for DDG 51 Flight III is designed with high operational availability and reliability to minimize overall ownership cost. |
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Raytheon AN/SPY-6(V) AMDR Should Be Available to US Allies Following IOC in 2023
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