This is Raytheon’s giant radar development facility.
Raytheon develops powerful SPY-6 radar here quickly, efficiently and reliably.
SPY-6 is a family of advanced naval radars that allows ships to simultaneously detect and counter a host of threats in the air and at sea.
Situated in Andover, Massachusetts, the facility is used to build, test, and calibrate sophisticated radar systems used for defense applications.
The facility’s work emphasizes high-precision manufacturing, integration, and testing in support of U.S. and allied defense needs, highlighting the engineering and technological capabilities involved in modern radar production and defense system support
The centerpiece of the facility’s work is the AN/SPY-6 family of naval radar systems, a next-generation active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that dramatically improves threat detection, tracking, and engagement capabilities for modern warships. By bringing together multiple stages of production — from circuit card assembly and module integration to precision calibration in acoustic-treated test bays.
The radar is designed to provide integrated air and missile defense, long-range surveillance, and high-resolution tracking capabilities across a wide range of surface combatants and large ships.
At the heart of SPY-6’s performance is its modular design based on Radar Modular Assemblies. Each RMA is a self-contained radar unit roughly 61 × 61 × 61 cm in size with gallium nitride transmit/receive modules, giving it much higher power density, sensitivity, and resistance to electronic interference than legacy systems.
Multiple RMAs are combined to form large AESA arrays, making the system scalable and configurable for different ship classes and missions.
