Raytheon will develop new signal-processing algorithms and software upgrades for naval radar systems under a contract from the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), targeting improved detection of smaller objects, greater sensitivity and more efficient radar operation.
Announced on October 12, 2026, by parent company RTX, the effort will include laboratory and field testing, with the technology being prepared for potential integration into Raytheon’s AN/SPY-6 family and other future naval radar systems. The company did not disclose the contract value or specific performance targets.
Software changes could improve existing radar performance
The program focuses on signal and data processing rather than announcing an entirely new radar system. Raytheon’s Advanced Technology team will develop and evaluate algorithms intended to extract useful target information from radar returns and improve how radar systems process incoming data.
Radar performance depends on more than antenna size and transmitted power. Signal-processing techniques influence how effectively a system distinguishes targets from background clutter and interference, tracks objects and maintains useful detection performance under changing conditions.
Software improvements could therefore increase the operational value of existing radar hardware without requiring a complete replacement. However, the extent of any improvement will depend on the algorithms developed, the radar’s underlying hardware and the results of testing.
Raytheon says the upgrades are intended to help naval operators detect smaller objects at greater distances and classify targets more quickly. Those outcomes remain program objectives, rather than independently verified results from the newly announced effort.
Why the SPY-6 radar connection matters
The planned transition to the AN/SPY-6 family gives the research a potential route into a radar program already being fielded across the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet.
SPY-6 is a family of shipboard radar systems designed to support missions that include air and missile defense. Its applications span detection and tracking requirements associated with aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile threats. Different variants are tailored to different ship classes and installation requirements.
Raytheon’s June 3, 2026, announcement of a $515 million U.S. Navy contract covered continued integration and test support for the SPY-6 family, including the SPY-6(V)4 upgrade for Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. A separate July 21 announcement described a $1.8 billion contract extension for SPY-6 hardware production and sustainment, with options that could bring the cumulative value to $3.3 billion.
The new research contract addresses a different part of the program. Rather than representing another disclosed radar production order, it focuses on developing and validating processing improvements that could eventually be incorporated into naval radar systems.
That distinction matters because producing additional radar units and improving the performance of deployed systems are separate challenges. Software development could complement the Navy’s hardware investment, although the new announcement does not establish that every SPY-6 variant will receive the resulting upgrades.
Software-defined radar and the limits of the approach
The project builds on Raytheon’s work in software-defined apertures, an approach intended to make radar hardware more adaptable through software changes.
According to the company’s technical description, software-defined architectures can allow radar systems to be reconfigured for different missions and updated without replacing all their underlying hardware. Raytheon has also described applications involving surveillance, tracking, communications and electronic warfare.
For naval forces, adaptability can be valuable when ships must monitor multiple types of potential threats while operating in crowded or electronically contested environments. A radar may need to distinguish legitimate targets from clutter, maintain tracks on multiple objects and continue operating when the electromagnetic environment changes.
Improved processing may help address some of these demands, but it cannot eliminate every limitation. Radar performance remains affected by factors such as target characteristics, propagation conditions, interference, antenna configuration and available processing resources. Software alone does not guarantee detection of every low-observable or small target.
The Navy will therefore need evidence from controlled tests and operationally relevant evaluations before the proposed upgrades can be judged against their intended objectives.
Development will continue through 2031
Raytheon said work will take place at its facilities in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and Andover, Massachusetts, through 2031. The program will progress through laboratory and field testing intended to validate performance and operational use before potential transition to SPY-6 and other future naval radars.
The company has not publicly specified a detailed milestone schedule, a deployment date, a contract value or quantified improvements in detection distance and sensitivity. The announcement also does not identify particular threats against which the algorithms have already demonstrated improved performance.
For the U.S. Navy, the practical measure of success will be whether the new processing methods deliver repeatable improvements under realistic operating conditions and can be integrated without unacceptable effects on existing radar functions.
Until test results become available, the program is best understood as a research and development effort aimed at improving naval sensing through software, with SPY-6 providing a potential transition path rather than a confirmed fielding commitment.
