AN/SPY-3: the navy's next-generation force protection radar system

This article provides a description of the functionality and design of the navy's first ship-board active array multifunction radar, the AN/SPY-3. The AN/SPY-3 radar principally provides detection, tracking, and illumination of low-flying antiship cruise missiles (ASCMs) as an integral part of advanced antiair warfare (AAW) systems including DD 21 and CVN 77. In order to provide the appropriate system context for the radar description, this article begins with an overview of the challenges of cruise missile defense and some of the issues that affect both weapon system and radar requirements. It then briefly discusses the concept of an advanced radar sensor suite that is designed to perform all shipboard radar functions, as well as some of the factors that influence the choice of radar frequency. A brief summary of the radar suite functionality is provided, along with a somewhat more detailed discussion of the functionality of the AN/SPY-3 radar. Next, rationale is provided for the selection of X-band as the frequency for the AN/SPY-3 radar. It finally concludes with a description of the AN/SPY-3 system architecture and key subsystems.