Lockheed awarded $176M for repairs on Navy's SPY-1 radar

A Pentagon statement on Friday noted that modifications to 1,672 different part numbers are included in the five-year contract.

Known as the "Shield of the Fleet," SPY-1 radar is a critical component of the Navy's aerial radar infrastructure, and an element in the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System at sea and on land. The six-megawatt, high-powered radar is able to perform search, tracking, and missile guidance functions simultaneously with a track capacity of well over 100 targets at more than 100 nautical miles.

Cruisers and destroyers of the U.S. Navy, and navies of Australia, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Spain, employ SPY-1 for ballistic missile defense. It was initially designed as an air defense system, but was upgraded to include a ballistic missile defense capability.

First installed on the cruiser USS Ticonderoga in 1981, the system comes in five variants, with upgrades and modifications for the type of ship.

Work will be performed at Lockheed Martin's Moorestown, N.J., facility with a completion date of August 2024.