Updated: As upgraded DDG conducts combat against Iran, Pentagon calls for more testing of improved Aegis system

USS Pinckney , shown here, is the first destroyer to get the full SEWIP Block 3 installation. (Richard Scott/Navypix)

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) in March became the first DDG to undergo the Destroyer Modernization 2.0 improvements to participate in combat during operations against Iran.

A video released by US Central Command on 15 March shows Pinckney firing a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) during combat operations against Iran.

The US Navy (USN) had identified the ship as the first to undergo Destroyer Modernization 2.0, in which Flight IIA DDGs are outfitted with and an AN/SPY-6(V)4 Air and Missile Defense Radar variant and a Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3, meant to provide these older vessels Flight III-like capabilities, according to US Navy (USN) programme officials.

The AN/SPY-6(V)1 uses four fixed-antenna assemblies with each antenna having 37 radar modular assemblies (RMAs). The AN/SPY-6(V)4 will use four fixed-antenna faces, with each antenna face having 24 RMAs.

SEWIP is a series of planned evolutionary upgrades to the surface navy electronic warfare (EW) capability, AN/SLQ-32, which detects, identifies, and tracks threat anti-ship missiles and targeting radars. Block 2 is the second in the series of upgrades with the introduction of the AN/SLQ-32(V)6 EW system, providing improved electronic surveillance. SEWIP Block 2 incorporates a new antenna system, enhanced processing capabilities, and associated hardware to improve battlefield situational awareness.

For more about the destroyer modernisation programme, please see Special Report: US Navy DDG upgrades continue despite budget and testing concerns.

Pinckney is outfitted with the AN/SLQ-32(V)7 SEWIP Block 3, according to the Pentagon's Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) said in its FY [Fiscal Year] 2025 Annual Report