Raytheon Expands SPY-6 Radar Into Four Navy Variants
Raytheon’s radar program now includes four SPY-6 variants after the company built the Air and Missile Defense Radar from the failed SPY-3/SPY-4 Dual Band Radar effort. The shift ties the system to destroyers, carriers, amphibious ships, and a backfit path for older Arleigh Burke destroyers.
Raytheon said in June 2025 that 42 SPY-6 radars were under contract for procurement. By April 2026, it said at least 60 vessels are expected to carry the system, and more than 15 radars had already been delivered to the U.S. Navy.
March 2022 Contract
The production line traces back to a $650.7 million contract awarded in March 2022, later modified repeatedly by Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. Raytheon was then awarded a $646 million option in June 2025 for continued production of SPY-6(V) radars for the U.S. Navy.
That contract activity is part of a steady stream of work from the U.S. Department of Defense for hardware production, spares production, and sustainment. In May 2026, Raytheon also won a contract from the Office of Naval Research to further develop advanced radar software for next-generation naval radars.
SPY-6(V)1 to SPY-6(V)4
The SPY-6(V)1 variant is intended to disproportionately outfit Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyers. Raytheon tied that version to a 40-year lifecycle across 35 ships. The SPY-6(V)4 variant is aimed at DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Flight IIA destroyers in a backfit effort, with a 21-year lifecycle across 28 ships.
Other variants cover different fleets. The SPY-6(V)2 is intended for Nimitz-class carriers, America-class Landing Helicopter Assault ships, and San Antonio-class Landing Platform Dock ships, along with some Zumwalt- and Wasp-class vessels. Raytheon said that version has a 37.1-year lifecycle across 15 ships.
The SPY-6(V)3 is intended for Ford-class carriers and was previously expected to equip Future Frigate Constellation-class vessels. Raytheon put that version at a 50.5-year lifecycle across 10 ships.
From Dual Band Radar
The SPY-6 program emerged after the SPY-3/SPY-4 Dual Band Radar failed to replace the AEGIS Weapon System at cost. The Dual Band Radar had been equipped in full only on the USS Gerald R. Ford, which left the Navy with a different path for future shipborne radar procurement.
Raytheon said its newer software work is intended to let each building block within a naval radar operate independently so multiple missions can be executed simultaneously by a single radar. The company said each building block is meant to act as its own software-defined aperture, allowing the radar to adapt and share crowded frequency bands.
For shipbuilders and Navy operators, the practical picture is now clearer than it was in the failed Dual Band Radar effort: one radar family, four variants, and ship-specific roles already spread across 35 destroyers, 15 carriers and amphibious ships, 10 Ford-class carriers, and 28 backfit destroyers.
