U.S. Navy begins upgrading 22-year-old destroyer with new radar

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) has entered General Dynamics NASSCO’s shipyard in San Diego for a second depot modernization period that will make it the first warship to receive the Raytheon AN/SPY-6(V)4 radar, the Navy’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Maritime said.

The availability will also make Pinckney the first ship fitted with the Navy’s new High Efficiency Super-Capacity air conditioning plants, which are needed to handle the heavier electrical and cooling demands of the upgraded combat systems. The work is part of Destroyer Modernization 2.0, or DDG MOD 2.0, the Navy’s program to upgrade its older Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers with a new radar, electronic warfare suite and combat system software.

“The collective effort by all stakeholders has finally brought us to the point of execution. Upon Depot Modernization Period completion, USS Pinckney will rejoin the Fleet equipped with the most comprehensive multi-spectral integrated sensor suite designed to maintain maritime superiority for decades to come,” said Capt. Tim Moore, program manager for DDG MOD 2.0.

The SPY-6(V)4 replaces the ship’s legacy AN/SPY-1D(V) radar. It uses four fixed array faces, each with 24 radar modular assemblies, for 360-degree coverage, and is a scaled-down version of the SPY-6(V)1 radar built into the Navy’s new Flight III destroyers, which use 37 assemblies per face. The radar will be fully integrated with Aegis Combat System Baseline 10 and is designed to detect and track ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and surface threats at longer ranges than the older system.

The Navy is splitting the upgrade into two phases so that shipyards and contractors can learn from each installation. Pinckney completed the first phase in 2024, becoming the first warship to receive the AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 3 suite, along with structural sponson modifications to carry the new equipment. It then deployed to the Pacific and Middle East, returning to San Diego in August after nine months at sea. Janes has reported that Pinckney became the first DDG MOD 2.0 ship to see combat, during operations against Iran in March.

The Navy awarded NASSCO $149.6 million on Sept. 5 for the current depot period, which is scheduled to run through September 2028. Raytheon installed the first SPY-6(V)4 array at the Navy’s land-based test site at Wallops Island, Virginia, in August, so engineers can integrate the radar with its power system before it goes aboard the ship and reduce testing time in the shipyard.

Pinckney leads a four-ship group of Flight IIA destroyers chosen to pioneer the DDG MOD 2.0 upgrades, along with USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93), USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) and USS Halsey (DDG 97). Commissioned in 2004 and built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, the San Diego-based destroyer is named for William Pinckney, a Navy Cross recipient who rescued a fellow sailor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise during the Battle of Santa Cruz in World War II.