Raytheon Installs First AN/SPY-6(V)4 Radar Array at Wallops Island for U.S. Navy Flight IIA Destroyer Modernization

 

Defense contractor Raytheon, a business unit of RTX, has officially delivered and installed the first AN/SPY-6(V)4 radar array at the Surface Combat Systems Center located on Wallops Island, Virginia. This milestone marks a critical advance in the U.S. Navy’s sweeping modernization program to backfit its existing inventory of Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA guided-missile destroyers with next-generation air and missile defense capabilities.

The land-based testing facility, situated over an open-water environment, will serve as the primary proving ground for the new radar system before it is integrated onto a floating warship. Beginning later this year and running through mid-2028, the site will host comprehensive trials evaluating the SPY-6(V)4 radar, its dedicated power distribution architecture, and its complex software interfaces with the broader Aegis combat system.

Designed specifically as a tailored backfit variant, the SPY-6(V)4 is unique within the broader four-member SPY-6 family. It is engineered explicitly to fit the space, weight, and power parameters of Flight IIA destroyers, allowing legacy hulls to field advanced multi-mission capabilities—including simultaneous anti-air warfare, ballistic missile defense, and surface tracking—comparable to newly constructed Flight III variants.

The ultimate destination for the first production hardware is the USS Pinckney (DDG 91), which is scheduled to undergo its comprehensive modernization backfit in a shipyard availability window running from late 2026 through 2028. By pre-integrating and thoroughly testing the radar array and power systems at Wallops Island ahead of time, the Navy and Raytheon aim to drastically minimize structural surprises and reduce active shipyard timelines.

This milestone comes amid a broader, company-wide manufacturing expansion. Raytheon has invested roughly $800 million to upgrade its defense production facilities, aiming to double overall SPY-6 manufacturing output by 2028 to support a projected fleet-wide rollout across more than 50 U.S. Navy surface combatants over the coming decade.