Tag Archives: DDG-51 Flight III

Navy

DDG 51 Flight III

The U.S. Navy awarded contracts to Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipbuilding Division (HII Ingalls) and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (GD BIW) for the fiscal years (FY) 2023-2027 multiyear procurement (MYP) of DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyers, August 1.

DDG 51 Flight III
The future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) completed acceptance trials, May 18. DDG-125 is the first Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer built in the Flight III configuration (Photo courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division)

«Arleigh Burke class destroyers are the backbone of the surface fleet and one of the most successful shipbuilding programs in the history of the Navy», said Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the U.S. Navy. «These awards provide a long term stable demand signal to the shipbuilder and industrial supply base, encouraging industry investment in the workforce. With our industry partners, we are going to continue to build them; and they will continue to secure the seas for decades to come!»

«These contract awards will allow the Navy to continue delivery of lethal capacity in an affordable and effective manner», said Frederick J. Stefany, acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. «The Navy saved $830 million for these nine ships through multiyear procurement contracts and also has options for additional ships to accelerate delivery of the critical DDG-51 Flight III capabilities to our naval force».

HII Ingalls is being awarded a Fixed-Price-Incentive Firm target (FPIF) contract for the design and construction of six DDG-51 class ships, six in FY 2023-2027.

GD BIW is being awarded a FPIF contract for the design and construction of three DDG-51 class ships, three in FY 2023-2026.

These multiyear procurement awards are for nine MYP ships. Additionally, each shipbuilder’s contract contains options for additional ships over the next five years, providing the Navy and Congress flexibility to increase DDG-51 build rates, if authorized and appropriated.

«These contracts will provide next-generation Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability for our future fleet while ensuring a stable shipbuilding and defense industrial base for the foreseeable future», said Captain Seth Miller, DDG-51 class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. «The Navy is proud to be teaming with the dedicated shipbuilders at HII Ingalls and GD BIW to construct and deliver these warships to the fleet».

The destroyers are being procured in a Flight III configuration, relying on a stable and mature design while delivering critical Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability with the AN/SPY6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar. The Navy’s first Flight III destroyer, USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125), was delivered by HII Ingalls in June 2023.

As one of the Defense Department’s largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, boats, and craft.

Navy

Next generation radars

Raytheon Company will build two additional shipsets of SPY-6 radars under a $250 million contract with the U.S. Navy. The company is now contracted to deliver a total of nine radar shipsets to DDG-51 Flight III destroyers.

Raytheon building additional SPY-6 radars for U.S. Navy

SPY-6 is a family of next generation, integrated air and missile defense radars that scale to meet the mission requirements of any ship.

«SPY-6 delivers significantly enhanced range and sensitivity [compared to legacy sensors], and gives geographically dispersed ships the ability to share – and act on – sensor data in ways never before possible», said Scott Spence, senior director of Naval Radar Systems at Raytheon. «This radar gives the Navy unprecedented operational flexibility to defend against ballistic and cruise missiles as well as advanced surface and air threats».

Since its inception in January 2014, the SPY-6 program has met all 20 milestones, ahead of or on schedule. The SPY-6 radar has a track record of performance, demonstrating its multi-mission capabilities against an array of single and multiple, simultaneous targets throughout the Navy’s extensive testing program.

Now in production at Raytheon’s advanced Radar Development Facility, AN/SPY-6(V) remains on schedule for delivery to the first DDG 51 Flight III, the future USS Jack H Lucas (DDG-125). The first delivery of AN/SPY-6(V)2 to USS Bougainville (LHA-8), the America Class Amphibious Assault Ship, is on plan for 2021.

Navy

Initial production

Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Marlborough, Massachusetts, is awarded a $402,658,015 fixed-price-incentive (firm target) modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-14-C-5315 to exercise options for Air and Missile Defense Radar Program (AMDR) Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP). This modification will provide for three AMDR LRIP units. The LRIP units will be deployed on DDG-51 Flight III-class ships. Work will be performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by March 2023. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (U.S. Navy) funding in the amount of $402,658,015 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Robots and engineers work together in Raytheon's new radar development facility to assemble an array for the U.S. Navy's AN/SPY-6(V) radar
Robots and engineers work together in Raytheon’s new radar development facility to assemble an array for the U.S. Navy’s AN/SPY-6(V) radar

AN/SPY-6(V) is the U.S. Navy’s next generation integrated air and missile defense radar. Currently in production, and on track for the DDG-51 Flight III destroyer, SPY-6 provides the Navy with unmatched protection against air, surface, and ballistic missile threats.

The radar is built with individual ‘building blocks’ called Radar Modular Assemblies (RMA). Each RMA is a self-contained radar in a 2’×2’×2’ box. These RMAs can stack together to form any size array to fit the mission requirements of any ship. This technology makes SPY-6 the Navy’s first truly scalable radar.

SPY-6 Advantages:

  • Scalable – can be configured for other ships based on mission requirements;
  • Capable – designed to counter large and complex raids;
  • Digital beamforming – provides exceptional capability in high-clutter and jamming environments;
  • Reprogrammable – able to adapt to new mission or emerging threats;
  • Gallium Nitride-based AESA – semiconductor technology enables 360 degree Active Electronically Scanned Array capability.

AN/SPY-6(V) Radar Build