US Navy begins SPY-6(V)4 radar testing ahead of first Arleigh Burke destroyer backfit
Arleigh Burke-class USS Pinckney sails during Operation Epic Fury in March 2026. (US Navy photo)
Wallops Island trials will validate the next-generation radar’s combat system integration before its installation aboard USS Pinckney, the first Flight IIA destroyer to receive the SPY-6(V)4 upgrade.
The US Navy’s (USN) SPY 6(V)4 radar has entered the testing phase after RTX Raytheon concluded the installation of the first array at the branch’s Surface Combat Systems Centre (SCSC) at Wallops Island in Virginia. The effort is part of the Arleigh Burke Class Flight IIA destroyer modernisation programme.
At the site, the service will evaluate SPY 6(V)4’s power and combat system interfaces. Following land-based testing, the radar will be installed aboard USS Pinckney (DDG 91), where shipboard trials are expected to begin later this year.
An official spokesperson for the company confirmed to Shephard that, at Wallops, the
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