First SPY6(V)4 array radar array installed at Wallops Island test site

US Navy shipboard radars are tested at the service's Wallop's Island facility, as shown here. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

Raytheon has delivered and installed the first SPY-6(V)4 radar array at Surface Combat Systems Center at Wallops Island in Virginia in preparation for the US Navy (USN) Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer (DDG) modernisation effort and the SPY-6 backfit program, the company confirmed on 3 August in a statement.

The Wallops site is a land‑based test facility situated right on the Virginia Atlantic Ocean coast over an open-water environment.

The site will support testing of the radar and its power and combat system interfaces ahead of installation on Flight IIA destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91), the first ship to be backfit with SPY‑6(V)4, Raytheon noted in the statement.

Initial testing is now scheduled to begin later this year and continue through mid‑2028, Raytheon said.

SPY-6(V)4 is one of four variants in the SPY-6 family of radars, and is the only variant designed to backfit Flight IIA Destroyers.

The testing at Wallops will be able to help Raytheon integrate SPY‑6(V)4 with its dedicated power system before the radar reaches the ship. Raytheon Naval Power President Barbara Borgonovi noted in a statement.

That means less time in the shipyard, more time dedicated to the mission, and a smoother path for future backfit ships” she said.

Pinckney is scheduled to be available for the SPY-6(V)4 backfit from late 2026 to 2028. The Navy and Raytheon are using the Wallops site to meet this tight schedule and ensure a smooth transition from maritime environment testing to shipboard installation and operation.