DefenseNews

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is preparing to give its Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers a major radar upgrade, trading in the AN/SPY-1D for a scaled-down version of the SPY-6 radar destined for the Flight III destroyers.

Back-fitting the Flight IIA destroyers with the SPY-6 technology is a step toward commonality with the Flight III DDG coming online. It also eases the burden on ships to keep the older radars running, which becomes increasingly onerous and expensive as the ships age.

“It is in the budget for the start of 2021 that we’ll work toward a back-fit on Flight IIA DDGs, but we’re working through the time fame and what ships with OPNAV [the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations],” said Capt. Jason Hall, who is the above-water sensors program manager at Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems.