Raytheon and Navy engineers at the Surface Combat Systems Center, Wallops Island, Virginia, will hold a preliminary design review this month on modifications to the Dual-Band Radar (DBR) that are required to integrate the system on board the carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). Delivery to the Ford, now in advanced construction at Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding, is scheduled for 2013.
The Ford, lead ship of a new three-carrier class, is set for delivery in 2015. The second ship, CVN-79, is scheduled to start construction in 2012, and CVN-80 several years thereafter, aimed at delivery in 2023.
Also in 2013, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, prime contractor for the DBR, will deliver a second system to the Navy for integration on board the Zumwalt (DDG-1000), the first of a three-ship class of land-attack destroyers to be built jointly by Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. A third system is set for delivery for the DDG-1001 in 2014.
As the name suggests, the DBR consists of two primary radars: the Raytheon-developed multi-function radar (MFR), also designated the SPY-3, and a volume-search radar (VSR) developed by Lockheed Martin Systems and Sensors.
Jim Barry, technical director for Seapower Capability Systems for Raytheon IDS, said that the SPY-3 MFR operates at the X-band frequency of 10 gigahertz for surveillance and tracking on the horizon for such targets as manned aircraft and antiship cruise missiles. He added that the SPY-3 also is capable of surface search and navigation and can detect and track small boats and surface craft, as well as buoys, jet skis, and submarine periscopes. The high X-band frequency, he noted, makes the SPY-3 effective in the intense clutter "close to the deck" above the sea surface, which can refract and otherwise distort radar beams.
The S-band VSR operates at a lower frequency range, about 3 gigahertz, for high-altitude targets, including aircraft and incoming threat missiles. Barry added that while functionally the SPY-3 also can perform the volume-search mission, it's ideally suited for the low-elevation horizon-search function, which requires considerable radar time; the larger aperture of the VSR makes it especially effective for the high-altitude search.
Both radars are controlled by a single IBM-built signal data processor that can interleave the two frequency bands simultaneously, for example, if one radar is being jammed. Raytheon officials note that the Navy's DBR requirements for both the Ford and Zumwalt are highly similar. The DDG-1000 computing architecture is based on a new Total Computing Ship Environment (TCSE) developed for the Zumwalt program. The Ford will be fitted with the Ship Self-Defense System MK 2 (SSDS MK 2), also built by Raytheon. The SSDS is used in different versions on board the Nimitz-class CVNs, and San Antonio- and Wasp-class amphibs.
The company says that combat-systems integration challenges are expected to be minimal, because both the TCSE and the SSDS MK 2 are fully compliant with the Navy's Open Architecture initiative that mandates maximum use of commercial components and software standards.
Raytheon says it is exploring ways to configure the DBR for the anticipated release of the Navy's concept for a CGX future surface combatant, which will be designed for the ballistic-missile defense (BMD) mission. Three Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers are already configured for the BMD mission, and the Burke-class guided-missile destroyers will be upgraded for the capability in an Aegis modernization program now under way.
Raytheon officials also say that the company is looking at ways to extend Navy and joint-service capability for the BMD mission through development of highly integrated networks. Such a network would link space-, ground-, and sea-based sensors to counter both endo-atmospheric ballistic missiles and exo-atmospheric threats, such as ICBMs.
Currently, the company is exploring potential applications for a tactical component network or TCN, developed and built by Solypsis prior to its acquisition by Raytheon in 2003. TCN was considered a potential alternative to the Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability, now fielded on most Ticos and Burkes. Raytheon says that the TCN may provide the advantages needed for a global network that allows an "engage on net" capability using multiple distributed sensors.
Correction
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems builds the common display system for the Aegis modernization. February's "Naval Systems" incorrectly reported the manufacturer.